Student Conduct and Discipline

This section addresses issues related to student conduct and behavior in the classroom. If you are a student, teacher, administrator, or school staff member, here you will find information and resources to help facilitate a safe and effective learning environment at school. This section also provides practical information on classroom management and discipline -- such as truancy and bullying – and other legal issues related to school safety and authority.
Student Conduct Codes

• Student Conduct: Background – Introductory information on successful student behavior models and the importance of student codes of conduct.
• Student Conduct: Basics – Ways schools have approached student conduct and discipline in the classroom.
• Codes of Conduct – Criteria for creating and maintaining codes of conduct.
• School Violence & Serious Violations – From cheating and gambling to bullying and school shootings – what codes of conduct can and cannot prevent.
• Technology and Cell Phones at School – Guidelines for students' use of mobile phones, email, and other technology at school.

• School Discipline: Background – Historical account of school discipline and punishment from the 1990s.
• School Discipline: History – A look at how school discipline has changed as administrators focus on student misbehavior.
• School Discipline: New Ideas – A few theorists perspectives on external punishment and the reward system.
• Finding School Discipline Policies – Tips on locating school codes of conduct and discipline policies.
• School Safety and Student Rights – A look at the policies designed to provide school safety and student rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
• School Drug Testing – Case examples of mandatory and voluntary drug testing in schools.
• Corporal Punishment Laws by State – A list of states that have banned corporal punishment.

• Bullying – In-depth look at “bullying”, including definition, examples, penalties, and discussion of state and federal anti-bullying laws.
• State Bullying Laws – List of specific state laws against bullying.

• School Safety and the Law – Overview of school safety laws related to bullying, “premises liability”, students codes of conduct, product safety, and free speech.

• School Violence: Background – A brief look at how violence in school lead to new state laws to improve school safety.
• School Violence and Weapons – Link between school violence and weapons, including how states have broadened the definition of weapons in its school laws.
• Metal Detectors in Schools – A look at the states need to provide safety in schools – such as through the use of metal detectors -- despite claims of privacy violation.
• Drug Dogs in Schools – A discussion of the legality of using drug dogs in schools according to a landmark Supreme Court case.
• Limitations on School Authority – Brief look at limits on school authority concerning guns and violence in schools.
• School Violence Laws – Discussion of the federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, which apples to many schools receiving federal funds.
• Punishments for Weapon Possession at School – Discusses what may happen if you are found carrying a weapon at school.
• Student Rights and School Searches – A discussion of student privacy rights, due process and free speech protections as impacted by school searches.
• Vehicle Searches at School – Need for school policy on car searches.
• Parents and School Violence – How parents and teachers may be held accountable for school violence.