Maryland approves regulations that ban zero-tolerance school discipline policies

From The Washington Post: The Maryland State Board of Education has voted to overhaul student-discipline practices, approving regulations that they hope will cut back on suspensions, keep students in class and create a less punitive culture in public schools. The regulations prohibit zero-tolerance policies with automatic consequences; long-term suspensions and expulsions are to be imposed only as a last resort. The changes place Maryland among states and school systems at the forefront of a national movement to rethink how students are punished and whether too many are suspended and expelled for offenses that could be handled in other ways.