Reclaiming Dignity in LAUSD School Discipline: School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (2007)

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How a Promising Policy Aimed to Transform School Discipline—and Why Accountability Still Matters

What This Report Is and Why It Matters

In 2007, the Los Angeles Unified District (LAUSD) adopted a sweeping Discipline Foundation Policy centered on School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). On paper, the policy promised a profound shift: fewer suspensions, stronger relationships, and environments where students are taught, supported, and kept in class rather than pushed out.

The importance of creating supportive environments in schools cannot be overstated, as it is essential for the success of students and the overall school community.

The policy begins with a powerful assertion: every student has the right to be educated in a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment. It recognizes what South LA parents have long known—that discipline rooted in punishment, exclusion, and inconsistency harms children, fractures trust, and deepens racial inequities.

This policy matters because it established the official framework for discipline reform in LAUSD. It required schools to replace reactive punishment with proactive support, to teach social-emotional skills, to use alternatives to suspension, and to involve parents as partners. It mandated training, data monitoring, and culturally responsive practices meant to prevent discrimination and reduce racial disparities in discipline.

But a policy alone does not change lived experience.

For parents in South Los Angeles, this distinction matters deeply. Too often, families are blamed or shut out when discipline problems arise, even when schools fail to provide early support, clear communication, or culturally responsive practices. This policy explicitly calls for parent training, collaboration, and transparency, affirming that families must be informed partners—not last-minute recipients of punishment decisions that affect their children’s education and well-being.

At the same time, the policy reveals a hard truth CADRE parents have long organized around: good intentions do not guarantee just outcomes. While the framework emphasizes dignity, prevention, and fairness, its impact ultimately depends on whether schools follow through—consistently, equitably, and with meaningful oversight. Without strong monitoring and parent-led accountability, the same disparities the policy aimed to reduce can persist under a different name.

Seen through this lens, the Discipline Foundation Policy is not just a district document. It is a benchmark. It tells parents what schools are supposed to be doing, what supports students are entitled to receive, and where failures in practice can—and must—be challenged. For CADRE and allied families, this report remains a critical reference point in the ongoing fight to ensure that discipline reform moves beyond words and into lived reality for Black and Brown children in South LA schools.

For CADRE parents, this document represents both possibility and caution. It shows that the District knew what was needed: early intervention, accountability, transparency, and respect for families. At the same time, CADRE’s later monitoring and shadow reports revealed how often these commitments were unevenly implemented, misunderstood, or ignored at the school level, particularly in South LA schools serving Black students.

This report is essential reading because it sets the standard schools were supposed to meet—and gives parents, organizers, and advocates a tool to hold systems accountable when schools fall short. It affirms that discipline reform is not a favor to families; it is a legal, moral, and human obligation.

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Key Highlights

  • Establishes School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) as the required foundation for discipline across all LAUSD schools
  • Prioritizes prevention over punishment, emphasizing teaching behavior, social-emotional learning, and early intervention
  • Requires alternatives to suspension, expulsion, and involuntary transfers, consistent with state and federal law
  • Mandates parent and caregiver training and frames families as collaborative partners, not adversaries
  • Calls for data collection and monitoring of discipline practices, including suspensions and referrals
  • Explicitly requires practices to be fair, non-discriminatory, and culturally responsive
  • Assigns clear responsibilities to students, parents, teachers, administrators, district staff, and central office
  • Creates structures for district-level oversight and independent auditing of implementation
  • Recognizes that inconsistent discipline practices can undermine school climate and student learning
  • Lays the groundwork for reducing racial disparities—while leaving implementation dependent on school-site follow-through lausd-discipline-foundation-pol…

Who This Resource Is For

  • Parents and caregivers navigating discipline issues in LAUSD schools
  • South LA families seeking to understand their rights and what schools are required to provide
  • Parent organizers and community leaders holding schools accountable
  • Educators and school staff working to implement restorative and supportive discipline practices
  • Advocates and legal partners addressing racial disparities and school pushout
  • Researchers and students studying discipline reform and policy implementation

Publication Details

Title: Discipline Foundation Policy: School-Wide Positive Behavior Support
Authors: Los Angeles Unified School District, Office of Student Health and Human Services
Year: 2007

These practices are crucial for building a positive school culture where every student feels valued and respected.

This report is part of CADRE’s broader work to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, outlined in our Theory of Change.

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