Pedro Noguera to Outline Alternatives to "Zero Tolerance" School Discipline Policies

When:
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Where:
Open Society Institute-Baltimore
201 North Charles Street, Suite 1300
Baltimore, Maryland

BALTIMORE—Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., a nationally renowned professor and author, will speak about alternatives to "zero tolerance" school discipline policies at an Open Society Institute-Baltimore forum on April 21 from 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

"Zero tolerance" policies—which call for severe punishments including suspension, expulsion, and even court prosecution for both major and minor discipline problems—have increased dramatically nationwide over the past decade.In Baltimore County alone, the number of children suspended from school nearly doubled between 1992-93 and 2001-02.

Critics charge that these policies reduce learning and do not address the root causes of the discipline problems. Moreover, children who are suspended or otherwise excluded from school have few educational alternatives during their time out of school. For example, 80 percent of suspended students in Maryland received no alternative educational services in the 2001-02 school year. And, as most students excluded from school because of discipline problems are minorities, males, and low achievers, these children are even more likely to fall behind academically, dropout of school, and turn to violence.

Noguera will use the forum to discuss ways to increase discipline in the schools while maintaining a supportive learning climate. According to Noguera, schools have implemented a number of successful alternatives, including strategic partnerships between school administrators, parents, non-profit organizations, and police, that have helped reduce violence and meet students' needs. "Community organizations and institutions should be the natural partners of schools," says Noguera. "We need to develop strategies to bring the whole community together to help create a healthy learning environment in our schools."

Following Noguera's talk, advocates, policymakers and representatives from the school and juvenile justice systems will meet to discuss how to improve the current discipline system in Baltimore. "Looking at new discipline models for our schools is essential," Jane Sundius, OSI-Baltimore education and youth development program director, said. "It is time for the Baltimore community to address the unintended consequences of 'zero tolerance' discipline policies on our children."

Noguera, a professor at the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University, also teaches part time in an urban high school. He is the author of several articles and books, the latest of which is entitled City Schools and the American Dream: Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education. Noguera is one of several lecturers in OSI's School Discipline Policies and their Criminal Justice Consequences forum series.

The Open Society Institute is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open society around the world. OSI's U.S. Programs seek to strengthen democracy in the United States by addressing barriers to opportunity and justice, broadening public discussion about such barriers, and assisting marginalized groups to participate equally in civil society and to make their voices heard. U.S. Programs challenge over-reliance on the market by advocating appropriate government responsibility for human needs and promoting public interest and service values in law, medicine, and the media. OSI's U.S. Programs support initiatives in a range of areas, including access to justice for low and moderate income people; independence of the judiciary; ending the death penalty; reducing gun violence and over-reliance on incarceration; drug policy reform; inner-city education and youth programs; fair treatment of immigrants; reproductive health and choice; campaign finance reform; and improved care of the dying. OSI is part of the network of foundations, created and funded by George Soros, active in more than 50 countries around the world.