The 2014 National Leadership Summit on School Discipline and Climate was designed to continue the conversation that began with the March 2012 National Leadership Summit on School-Justice Partnerships: Keeping Kids In School and Out of Court, where the New York Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children convened teams from 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to discuss how to improve school discipline practice, and reduce student entry into the juvenile justice system.
During this summit, state and local teams had an opportunity to deepen partnerships and develop concrete steps to further advance school discipline and juvenile justice reform in their communities. In particular, teams focused on utilizing three levers for change—building political will, leveraging policies and funding, and establishing and maintaining cross-systems collaboration—as they developed action plans and identified technical assistance and financial resources that will assist with implementation. They also learned more about how to address implicit bias and share and learn from examples of state and local best practice that have resulted in improved school climate, reformed discipline practices, and reduced juvenile justice system entry. (See an overview of the summit design here.)
Over the past year, States, localities, and organizations have achieved major milestones in their efforts to provide safe, supportive, and fair school climates for all youth. Summit partners hope that these efforts will continue and that the teams will engage new partners, begin new efforts, and ensure that current successes and new reforms are sustained over time.
To view materials from the summit, use the blue menu box to the right to navigate.