(From American Teacher, March 1997, "Order in the Classroom")

Poll after poll tells us that parents and the public expect schools to provide a high-quality education for children. We know that this is not possible without safe and orderly classrooms where students can concentrate on learning without constant disruptions or incidents of violence. Polls also confirm that establishing a safe and orderly learning environment is at the top of the public's list of educational priorities. In response, the AFT  began its campaign for standards of conduct and standards of achievement, Responsibility, Respect, Results: Lessons for Life.

The centerpiece of that campaign is the AFT Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Learning. Principle three of the bill says, "All students and staff have a right to learn and work in school districts that have alternative educational placements for violent or chronically disruptive students." Here are some questions and answers about this issue:

Q. Will alternative educational placements alone solve the problem?

A. No. Alternative educational placements are not "magic bullets" that will solve all discipline problems. They are a necessary component of a system to minimize discipline problems. These specialized placements support learning for both the few who are dangerous or disruptive and the many who can function in regular classrooms.

Alternative educational placements should be one part of an overall discipline program that includes effective classroom management strategies, clear and consistently enforced discipline codes, a range of sanctions short of placement in alternative programs for infrequent and minor infractions of rules, and a fair and expedient appeals procedure for students placed in alternative programs for an extended period of time. When all the components of an effective discipline strategy are in place, a small percentage of the student body will need to be placed in alternative settings.

Q. Why do we need alternative educational placements?

A. First, to ensure safety. Students who are violent pose a danger to themselves, other children and staff. Violent students must be removed from regular classroom settings to alternative schools until they no longer pose a threat to others.

Also, students who are chronically disruptive or violent impede learning for the overwhelming majority of students who come to school to learn. Students cannot learn in an atmosphere of fear and instability. Teachers cannot teach when they are preoccupied with policing duties. Prompt removal of violent or chronically disruptive students can salvage precious time for teaching and learning and teaches all students an important civics lesson: engaging in prohibited behavior has consequences.

Finally, students who are consistently disruptive or violent need to be placed in an environment where they can receive special assistance with their behavior problems and continue to receive academic instruction. Regular schools are not able to provide that intensive, specialized help and simultaneously continue to meet the needs of the majority of students.

Q. What do we mean by alternative placements?

A. Alternative educational settings should not be warehouses or dumping grounds for students. Clear behavioral benchmarks must be established for students placed in such programs explaining what they must attain to return to the regular school or classroom setting.

There should be a range of alternative placement options, from in-school measures such as time-out rooms to short- and long-term alternative schools or correctional institutions for criminal offenders. Chronically disruptive children must not be placed in the same alternative setting as violent students.

Alternative placements must have significantly lower pupil-teacher ratios than regular classrooms to ensure that troubled youngsters get the intensive help they need. Also, staff working in alternative placement programs must be competent instructors in academic fields and also have special training and skills in helping chronically disruptive and violent children.

All placements should provide instruction in rigorous academics and supplementary counseling and supervision. Finally, alternative school teachers must be assisted by psychologists, family workers and other outside service providers.

Q. Can we afford alternative educational placements?

A. Because alternative settings require smaller class size and special staff, alternative settings are not cheap. Significant portions of the cost can and should be shared with non-school agencies charged with working with children and families.

But having a range of alternative placements is cost effective because the cost of not having effective discipline systems in place is more expensive. Here are just some of the advantages:

• More learning in regular classrooms. When one hour of instructional time per day is lost to disruption, the cost per year is $23,429 per class (based on the national average annual cost per pupil of $5,623).
  
  
• Less repetition of grades by students. For each student that an alternative program prevents from having to repeat a grade, the cost savings is $5,623.
  
  
• Less incarceration. Many students who are chronically disruptive or violent are on a fast track to incarceration when they become adults. With appropriate interventions, we stand a good chance of turning them around. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In 1993, the average cost to incarcerate an inmate in local jails was $14,667 per year. Federal prisons cost an average of $22,773 per inmate per year.