Education Law Center

Newsletter | December 2014

Philadelphia's Shift in Discipline Policy

Education Law Center attorneys David Lapp and Maura McInerney are both quoted extensively in the Philadelphia Public School Notebook's featured article on changes in the School District of Philadelphia's school discipline policy.

Maura McInerney and David Lapp

From the article:

In a school district like Philadelphia, many children experience poverty, hunger, an unstable family life, and street violence outside their doors. As many as two of every three students have experienced this kind of trauma, said Maura McInerney, also an Education Law Center attorney.

Schools must make an extraordinary effort to understand how children's' behavior in the classroom is shaped by what they have gone through, McInerney said. To help them succeed, she said, educators have to undertake a shift in how they look at student behavior.

"You don't say, `What's wrong with this child!' You say, 'What has happened to this child? What did this child experience?'"

Read the complete article

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ELC Webinar on School Climate and Discipline for Youth in Foster Care

Join ELC for this hour-long webinar highlighting current best practices, policies, and tools that can improve school climate for all students, and especially those in the child welfare system. The webinar was developed for educators, school administrators, teachers, and advocates, and guides participants through the Legal Center on Foster Care and Education's new tool on school discipline.

This resource highlights the 2014 guidance on school discipline from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. We will also showcase practices and policies of advocates and administrators who work with students in the child welfare system.

Panelists include:
* Hallam Harper, Esq., Education Law Center
* Catherine Feeley, Esq., Juvenile Law Center
* Karen Bayer, former Principal, Mackenzie Middle School, Lubbock, Texas

School Climate and Discipline for Youth in Foster Care: Tips from the Field and Federal Guidance
Date: January 9, 2015
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST

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