Evaluating Promising School Staff and Resource-Officer Approaches for Reducing Harsh Discipline, Suspensions and Arrests

The applicants propose a study to evaluate four programs: the School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), a graduated sanctions and restorative justice approach with SRO involvement; the Adolescent Mental Health Training for SROs; the Life Space Crisis Intervention, a conflict-resolution strategy for teachers and SROs; and Support for Students Experiencing Trauma, a treatment for students whose misconduct is trauma based. The goal of these interventions is to provide schools with effective alternatives to exclusionary discipline and reduce referrals to the criminal justice system. The four-year project would occur in all 27 public schools in Cecil County (Maryland). The project uses a delayed treatment design to permit the comparative analysis of components; the benefit, if any, of providing multiple components over single components; and whether the order of component implementation matters. The study also includes a cost-benefit analysis. This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in the applicable law, and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements – 2 CFR 200.210(a) (14). ca/ncf