Methodology

The Center for the Study of Scholastic Discipline (CSSD) evaluates school district student discipline policies and practices through a structured, evidence-based review of publicly available policy documents, implementation materials, and other relevant official sources.

This process is composed of:

• Evaluation metrics - Evaluation metrics have been developed based on elements of widely-accepted best practices in school discipline policy.
• Policy Research - Advanced search identifies public documents that relate to school discipline policy, training, and implementation
• Document Review - Identified documents are evaluated based on both existence of relevant policies as well as evidence of implementation
• Scoring - Existence and implementation of policies are scored according to the evaluation metrics.
• Suggestions for improvement - The highest gap elements are used to identify changes to policies (creation/modification) and implementation that could improve a district's score.

As we expand we will incorporate historical and current district-level discipline metrics by demographic class, as they are available to measure impact of policy changes.

Policy Research

The evaluation begins with an advanced Internet search based on key concepts identified in CSSD’s Student Discipline Policy Best Practices and Scholastic Discipline Questionnaire. The search is designed to identify policies, procedures, regulations, handbooks, guidance documents, training materials, reports, and other official information that collectively describe how student behavior and discipline are addressed within a school district.

Research begins with the school district and its individual schools and is expanded, where appropriate, to include applicable state laws, regulations, policies, standards, and guidance.

The review seeks documents and other evidence addressing areas including:

• student codes of conduct and behavioral expectations;
• disciplinary policies and procedures;
• suspension, expulsion, and other disciplinary consequences;
• restorative and alternative disciplinary practices;
• student participation in the development, review, or implementation of behavioral and disciplinary policies;
• procedures intended to promote consistent and equitable application of discipline;
• cultural awareness, cultural competency, and implicit-bias training for teachers, administrators, and other school personnel;
• recognition of cultural and individual differences in student behavior and learning;
• staff responsibilities, accountability, and oversight;
• collection and review of discipline data; and
• periodic review and revision of discipline policies and practices.

Document Review and Questionnaire

The documents and other information identified through the research process are examined systematically using the CSSD Scholastic Discipline Questionnaire. Each questionnaire item is answered according to the facts and evidence identified during the research.

The evaluation considers both written policy and available evidence concerning implementation. Where multiple sources address the same question, they are considered together to develop the most complete answer supported by the available evidence. Applicable state requirements are also considered when they establish standards, obligations, or practices relevant to the district.

Scoring

Each questionnaire response is assigned a rating based on the extent to which the evidence satisfies the criteria established by CSSD’s Student Discipline Policy Best Practices. The ratings are:

• 2 pts. District policy addresses this best practice and there is documentation it is fully implemented.
• 1 pt. District policy addresses this, but there is indication that it is only partialy implemented, or no documentation that it is implemented.
• 0 pts. District policy does not address this.

Total score possible for all sections is 96 points. In the future we will provide a means for districts to upload supplementary material and request re-evaluation. The methodology also allows for extra credit when a district has adopted documented policies or practices that meaningfully exceed the criteria measured by the standard questionnaire.

Individual ratings are summed to produce an overall score. The resulting score provides a standardized means of assessing the extent to which a district’s discipline framework and documented implementation reflect the principles and practices identified by CSSD.

Recommendations for Improvement

The purpose of the evaluation is not simply to produce a score. After the assessment is completed, CSSD examines questionnaire items where additional or stronger policies, procedures, or implementation practices could improve the district’s results.

Based on those findings, CSSD generates specific suggestions for potential improvements. These recommendations are intended to identify practical opportunities for strengthening written policies, improving implementation, increasing consistency and transparency, improving staff preparation, expanding student participation, and promoting fair and effective approaches to student discipline.

Scope and Limitations

CSSD’s evaluation is an evidence-based review of both policy and documented implementation. The assessment considers not only the language of official policies, procedures, regulations, handbooks, and guidance documents, but also publicly available evidence concerning how those policies are implemented, administered, monitored, and reviewed in practice.

The research process therefore seeks evidence concerning such matters as staff and teacher training, responsibility for implementation, adherence to established disciplinary procedures, administrative oversight, student participation, collection and review of discipline data, periodic policy review, and other practices addressed by the CSSD Scholastic Discipline Questionnaire.

Questionnaire responses and ratings are based on the totality of relevant evidence identified during the research process. Where reliable evidence demonstrates that a policy or practice has been implemented, that evidence is considered as part of the factual basis for the evaluation. Similarly, where available evidence demonstrates differences between a written policy and its implementation, those facts may be considered in answering and rating the applicable questionnaire items.

CSSD’s findings are necessarily limited by the information that can be reliably identified and verified through its research. The absence of publicly available evidence should therefore not automatically be interpreted to mean that a particular policy or practice does not exist or is not being implemented. Rather, it means that CSSD was unable to establish that fact with sufficient evidence for purposes of the evaluation.

By applying the same research methodology, evidentiary standards, questionnaire, and scoring framework across school districts, CSSD seeks to provide a consistent and transparent means of evaluating both the policies governing student discipline and the documented practices through which those policies are carried out.