Dion BurnsDaniel EspinozaJulie AdamsNaomi Ondrasek
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In California, the approximately 47,000 students who live in foster care face complex educational challenges. This report sheds light on the needs, characteristics, and outcomes of California students living in foster care and promising practices to better support them, including enhancing effective coordination and collaboration among agencies; building trusting relationships in schools; and providing targeted social, emotional, and academic services.
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Following the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, there have, once again, been calls for armed teachers or security officers in schools. But research shows that more guns don’t make schools safer. Instead, there are three evidence-based strategies for increasing school safety: gun controls, reporting of warning signs, and school-based social-emotional and mental health supports.
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The science of learning shows that addressing student behavior with restorative practices rather than zero-tolerance discipline is essential for students’ healthy development and academic success. Using examples from districts across the country, LPI researchers discuss key lessons on what is needed to successfully implement restorative approaches to create safe, inclusive schools that promote well-being and connectedness.
Linda Darling-HammondPamela CantorLaura E. HernándezAbby SchachnerSara Plasencia Christina TheokasElizabeth Tijerina
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Education aims to give every student opportunities to learn and thrive, but the outdated design of our schools contributes to widening inequalities. Science provides a clear path forward: students’ knowledge, skills, and well-being can be significantly influenced and improved by learning environments that use whole child design. Key design principles show how schools can utilize the science of learning and development to reshape systems, structures, and practices to improve student outcomes.
Jennifer DePaoli Laura E. HernándezRoberta C. FurgerLinda Darling-Hammond
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Multiple, ongoing crises—from the pandemic to systemic racism—are contributing to a collective and individual trauma that impacts the mental health, wellness, and education of students across the nation. These challenges also present an opportunity to redesign schools into restorative spaces where young people are known and nurtured. Research shows several practices school leaders can adopt to increase equity and help students thrive.
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National estimates show that during the 2015–16 school year, nearly 11.4 million days of instruction were lost due to out-of-school suspensions. Disciplinary actions that remove students from the classroom, coupled with lost instruction caused by COVID-19, have resulted in high rates of learning loss, particularly for students of color and students with disabilities. As students’ opportunities to learn continue to diminish, educational inequities persist.
Jennifer DePaoli Laura E. HernándezLinda Darling-Hammond
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As school and district leaders prepare to start school—whether in person or virtually—their work should be grounded in two essential questions: How can we address the acute needs of young people, who continue to grapple with the dual impacts of COVID 19 and systemic racism? And, how can we use this crisis as an opportunity to transform schools into nurturing communities that are committed to equity, diversity, and antiracism?
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The Trump administration rescission of federal school discipline guidance and proposals to arm teachers is making our schools more like prisons and less like centers of learning. In this Forbes commentary, Linda Darling-Hammond discusses the wide body of research showing that these policies backfire and real school safety will come from investments in social-emotional learning and restorative justice practices.
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In 2018, the Trump administration rescinded voluntary federal guidance intended to help states end exclusionary and discriminatory school discipline practices. Many states had implemented policies based on evidence-based approaches outlined in the guidance and have seen lower rates of suspensions and expulsions among all students, including students of color, and other benefits. Loss of that guidance removes an important set of resources available to states and districts to end harmful practices.
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Too many U.S. schools employ harsh, zero-tolerance discipline policies resulting in suspensions and expulsions for minor offenses that can push students out of school and onto a path to prison. A new report by the Learning Policy Institute shares the research on the negative impacts of zero-tolerance and exclusionary discipline policies, provides details on research-based approaches that actually make schools more safe and inclusive, and addresses the potential consequences of the Trump administration’s rescission of federal discipline guidance.
