The Obama administration on Wednesday issued recommendations intended to address disparities in how students of different races are disciplined for violations of school rules. Jane R. WettachDirector, Children's Law Clinicwettach@law.duke.eduhttp://www.law.duke.edu/fac/wettachWettach, director of Duke Law School's Children's Law Clinic, has focused much of her work on school discipline policy, and frequently advocates on behalf of clinic clients challenging school discipline measures.Quote:"The recommendations of the Obama administration seem to be on the right track. Exclusion from school should be a last resort rather than the default response to student misbehavior.""Referral to juvenile and criminal courts should very rarely be needed to resolve school issues. Programs like Positive Behavior Intervention, restorative justice and peer mediation, along with adequate training for school personnel in discipline and crisis management, would go a long way to avoiding serious discipline problems in school."
