Zafar Shah remembers being called to his son Zakir’s school. As a new parent to the school system, he was embarrassed and apologetic, but did not know much about disciplinary procedures. He arrived and was told that his son had assaulted a teacher by throwing a chair. Alarmed, he asked for the details of the situation. After all, his son needed assistance carrying his backpack to school, so he wondered how he’d thrown a chair. Staff admitted that he had pushed the chair over

On June 19, 2017, Pittsburgh Public Schools took important first steps toward limiting out-of-school suspension for early learners, pre-K through fifth grade. These actions might not have taken place without the organizing work of the Education Rights Network, a parent-led organization that works to achieve disability and racial equity in Pittsburgh Public Schools. At the meeting, the school board formed a working group to develop a definition of “non-violent minor disciplina

I remember my high school back in Chicago taking a zero-tolerance approach to discipline. Every rule infraction was punished with at least one demerit. If a student received four demerits within a two-week span, he or she was given a detention. As those days have faded into the past, I’ve come to wonder whether this approach was the best way to create a safe and supportive school environment. I learned a lot more about the school discipline experiences of other youth during m