How do schools determine the appropriate amount of discipline when their students misbehave? A Westchester, New York, school district recently grappled with this issue (Source: New York Times, July 6, 2008, In Schools, How Tight Must Discipline Be?), as it dealt with a student who committed a series of offenses who also happened to be the son of one of its school board members.
The 14 year old student was disciplined for several acts of bullying and repeatedly threatening violence, but many parents thought school officials were too tolerant of his behavior, especially because he was the son of a school board member. Ultimately, after school officials met with the student's mother, he was home schooled for the remaining two weeks of the year. The mother also resigned from the school board. According to the article schools are ethically-bound to promote a proper code of conduct in schools. Tolerating this kind of behavior for so long contributed to the conflict among the parents and school officials.
Overall, schools are making strides to provide safe learning environments. In addition to having and enforcing an appropriate code of conduct, schools can also leverage technology to assist them in their disciplinary measures. Network video often can corroborate complaints of bullying, for example, if the incident is recorded. Plus, anonymous tipping solutions, such as Talk About It allow students to report inappropriate behavior, so school administrators can investigate and deal with those situations before they get out of hand.
Has your school dealt with a similar situation to the one in Westchester? Have you used network video or other technology to assist in your disciplinary actions?