An in-school suspension program was planned for the target high school, as a viable alternative to the placement of students outside of the school environment for discipline reasons.
The urban target high school also has adopted an in-school suspension program in recognition of the need for more effective disciplinary procedures. Although the discipline policy has been very effective in most cases in the past, there are students who are suspended who have serious problems that can only be corrected with counseling, a component present in the in-school suspension program. If discipline is to improve then special attention must be given to these students to meet their emotional and psychological needs not only their academic needs.
An in-school suspension program allows a student who has arrived at a point of suspension to remain in school for his/her suspension; to keep up with academic work and receive credit for academic work done during suspension; yet at the same time, to be held responsible for his/her actions and to be given counseling to enable the student to avoid behavior that could account for any further suspension.
Students who had participated in the program, their parents and teachers were surveyed during four semesters. The results of the surveys showed that the three constituencies were favorably disposed to the in-school suspension program and that the program was beneficial to the student.
Although in-school suspension is not a cure-all, more schools should consider the in-school suspension program as an alternative to their out-of-school suspension. However, there have to be assurances that the counseling which was initiated in in-school suspension will continue after the student leaves the program. Also there has to be a way of actively involving more parents in the program other than their appearance at the time of the student's reinstatement to class.
