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____________________________________________________________ March 22, 2011
 New Report on Effectiveness of School Discipline Policies Limited Evidence that Zero Tolerance is Effective; Nonpunitive Alternatives Show Promise
Among the findings about nonpunitive discipline policies:
- Alternatives that take a largely preventive approach to violence and misbehavior--such as character education or social-emotional learning programs and School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports--have been shown through rigorous, experimental evaluations to have significant, positive impacts on student behaviors, as well as on academic achievement in some cases.
- Nonpunitive approaches towards negative behavior--such as targeted behavioral supports for at-risk students--have been shown to reduce violent behavior in school. These programs typically involve program leaders engaging students in daily or weekly exercises to build social skills and small group or one-on-one training sessions.
Among the findings about zero tolerance policies:
- Because of the variation in the scope and interpretation of zero tolerance policies among schools, coupled with the lack of rigorous evaluations of these policies, no conclusions can be drawn on their impacts nationally.
- The existing research using urban school district data and case studies shows no evidence that zero tolerance policies decrease school violence.
- Zero tolerance policies may be related to negative outcomes in cases in which students are suspended, expelled, or attend a school with especially harsh policies. For example, students who receive a suspension in middle or high school are also significantly less likely to graduate on time and are more likely to drop out.
"Many nonpunitive and preventive approaches to school violence and student misbehavior hold great promise," says Christopher Boccanfuso, Ph.D., lead author of the brief. "These approaches not only help to prevent or minimize negative behaviors, but also promote positive youth development and skills that will help students in the classroom and beyond."
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