Suspended Education: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis

Examines the rise in school suspensions; their effectiveness; the widening racial/ethnic discipline gap, especially for African-American boys; and the impact of suspensions on academic success and likelihood of incarceration. Makes policy recommendations

Out of School and Off Track: The Overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools

Analyzing data from over 26,000 U.S. middle and high schools, the report reveals profound disparities in suspension rates when disaggregating data by race/ethnicity, gender, and disability status. The report identifies districts with the largest number of "hotspot" schools (suspending 25 percent or more of their total student body), suggests alternatives that are already in use, and highlights civil rights concerns

Suspended Education in California

Analyzes data on risk of school suspension by race/ethnicity, gender, and disability status in nearly five hundred districts; highlights research showing suspensions to be ineffective and harmful; and calls for implementing evidence-based alternatives

NEPC Review: Understanding a Vicious Cycle: Do Out-of-School Suspensions Impact Student Test Scores?

A report from the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas examines the association between out-of-school suspensions and student test scores. Using dynamic and multilevel regression modeling of six years of school records from all K-12 public schools in Arkansas, the paper purports to estimate a causal relationship between exclusionary discipline and academic performance. It concludes, in contrast to prior work, that the number of days of suspension a student receives has a positive relationship to math and language arts test scores. However, the outcomes (end-of-year test scores) are measured at least a full year after the hypothesized causal factor (days suspended), and there is no control for days suspended in the year the test was taken. Consequently, the results do not reflect missed instructional time for the tested material or other associated mechanisms through which suspension might adversely affect test scores. The analyses also control for a large number of infractions that are strongly related to days of out-of-school suspension, which may produce biased results. The findings also have weak face validity, in light of the weight of evidence suggesting that exclusionary discipline and school absences have adverse effects on test scores, GPA, grade retention, and dropping out. For these reasons, the reviewers caution that this paper is not useful for policymakers. A response from the authors is below the review. The reviewers of &ldquo;Understanding A Vicious Cycle: Do Out-Of-School Suspensions Impact Student Test Scores?&rdquo; respond to criticisms of their review in two parts, Part I by Daniel Losen and Part II by Brea Louise Perry.</p

CERTL reduces C16 ceramide, amyloid-β levels, and inflammation in a model of Alzheimer’s disease

Background: Dysregulation of ceramide and sphingomyelin levels have been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Ceramide transfer proteins (CERTs) are ceramide carriers which are crucial for ceramide and sphingomyelin balance in cells. Extracellular forms of CERTs co-localize with amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in AD brains. To date, the significance of these observations for the pathophysiology of AD remains uncertain. Methods: A plasmid expressing CERTL, the long isoform of CERTs, was used to study the interaction of CERTL with amyloid precursor protein (APP) by co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence in HEK cells. The recombinant CERTL protein was employed to study interaction of CERTL with amyloid-β (Aβ), Aβ aggregation process in presence of CERTL, and the resulting changes in Aβ toxicity in neuroblastoma cells. CERTL was overexpressed in neurons by adeno-associated virus (AAV) in a mouse model of familial AD (5xFAD). Ten weeks after transduction, animals were challenged with behavior tests for memory, anxiety, and locomotion. At week 12, brains were investigated for sphingolipid levels by mass spectrometry, plaques, and neuroinflammation by immunohistochemistry, gene expression, and/or immunoassay. Results: Here, we report that CERTL binds to APP, modifies Aβ aggregation, and reduces Aβ neurotoxicity in vitro. Furthermore, we show that intracortical injection of AAV, mediating the expression of CERTL, decreases levels of ceramide d18:1/16:0 and increases sphingomyelin levels in the brain of male 5xFAD mice. CERTL in vivo over-expression has a mild effect on animal locomotion, decreases Aβ formation, and modulates microglia by decreasing their pro-inflammatory phenotype. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a crucial role of CERTL in r

Nationwide Survey of State Education Agencies’ Online School Disciplinary Data for Students with Disabilities&nbsp;

UCLA Civil Rights Project’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies has extracted information from all 50 State Education Agency (SEA) websites and Washington, DC to compile publicly-reported school disciplinary data below. The findings are shown in the downloadable spreadsheet with summaries of student disciplinary data for each state. Information in the table was corroborated by SEA staff. Although most states offer additional data on disciplinary actions upon request, this web-based tool only uses data readily available to the public online

Nationwide Survey of State Education Agencies’ Online School Disciplinary Data&nbsp;

UCLA Civil Rights Project’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies has collaborated with the Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG Justice Center) to extract information from all 50 State Education Agency (SEA) websites and Washington, DC to compile publicly-reported school disciplinary data below. The findings are shown in the downloadable spreadsheet with summaries of student disciplinary data for each state. Information in the table was corroborated by SEA staff. Although most states offer additional data on disciplinary actions upon request, this web-based tool only uses data readily available to the public online