ISS vs. OSS: What Each One Means for Students
The difference between ISS and OSS is location. In-school suspension keeps a student on campus in a supervised room, still doing assigned work. Out-of-school suspension sends them home for a set number of days. Students usually consider OSS the lighter consequence. The research on behavior outcomes does not support that.
After garnering a job as a teacher, I was walking through the hallways of my alma mater. There were still teachers working whom I had when I was a student. I respected those teachers, but in reflection, I sure was a handful while in school. In fact, I was suspended several times between junior and high school. Many of these teachers, and even community members, were amazed that I made it into the profession of teaching…even though my mom was a teacher. One word reverberated with me as I started my teaching career….KARMA!
Karma refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual, according to Wikipedia. The lessons I have learned from my own experiences of bad behavior have supported me in understanding students and parents at a different level. Many teachers come from the same mold: they were the student in school who always loved school, loved playing school as a child, and were rule followers. This was definitely not me. At one point in 6th grade, a teacher told my mom that I was in trouble; remember, she was also a teacher. This teacher would come down to her classroom and report the latest incident. My mom finally told her, "Do you want me to go down there and beat the crap (or similar synonym) out of him?" That teacher quit coming down to tell her, and somehow I had a much better year!
Now as a principal, I feel there are many lessons I can impart to the students in my school, as well as stories I can tell parents who struggle with their own child's behavior. Here are four lessons I learned from my in-school suspension and out-of-school suspensions. Before those, a quick definition, because the two acronyms get thrown around interchangeably and they are not the same thing.
ISS vs. OSS: What Each One Actually Means
In-school suspension, or ISS, removes a student from their regular classes but keeps them in the building. They sit in a designated room, supervised, working through assignments sent down by their teachers. Out-of-school suspension, or OSS, removes them from campus entirely for a set number of days.
That single difference drives everything else about how the two consequences land.
| In-School Suspension (ISS) | Out-of-School Suspension (OSS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the student is | On campus, in a separate supervised room | At home, off school grounds |
| Access to schoolwork | Assignments provided and supervised | Varies by district, often independent catch-up |
| Attendance | Set by state and district policy, and the two are often treated differently | |
| Length | Set by district code of conduct, and some states cap OSS in statute | |
| School activities | Restrictions during a placement are set by district policy | |
Common practices only. Exact rules vary by state and district.
Specific rules differ by state and by district, and the document that governs them is your school's student code of conduct. Some states cap the length of an out-of-school suspension in statute. Texas, for example, limits OSS to three school days. Your district's code of conduct and board policy are the place to check rather than assuming the norms from a neighboring district carry over.
So Which One Is Worse?
Ask students, and most will tell you OSS is the easier draw. A day at home beats a day in a silent room with a monitor walking you to the bathroom. That instinct is exactly why the question matters.
Measured on behavior rather than on which one students dread more, the picture is less flattering to both. Researchers have raised persistent concerns about exclusionary discipline of either kind, particularly when a removal is not paired with behavioral supports or interventions that address why the behavior happened. In-school suspension was created in the 1970s as the alternative to sending students home, on the reasoning that a student in the building at least keeps access to instruction. That reasoning holds. What it does not do on its own is teach the student anything about the behavior.
That gap is what changed how I run discipline, and it is the thread through all four lessons below.
A Note on Students with IEPs
One piece of this has federal law attached to it. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act gives students with disabilities additional protections around discipline. A removal of more than ten consecutive school days can constitute a change of placement, and so can a series of shorter removals that add up to more than ten days and form a pattern, which depends on factors like how similar the behaviors were and how close together the removals fell. Where a change of placement is in play, the student's IEP team runs a manifestation determination review, which asks whether the behavior was related to the student's disability. Days in ISS generally are not counted as removals as long as the student keeps receiving the services in their IEP, can keep participating in the general curriculum, and can keep participating with nondisabled students to the extent they would in their current placement.
If you are a parent working through this, your district's special education office and your state's parent training and information center are the right places to start. If you are an administrator, your district almost certainly has counsel or a special education director who tracks these day counts, and that is a conversation to have before the tenth day, not after it.
Connect Better with Kids
How many times does a kid come into my office with a story that sounds exactly like what I did in school? This is where Karma comes into play. Now I am dealing with it as a principal! I always search for the motivation behind the behavior incident. Many times the motivation is to either avoid or obtain something…attention, objects, tasks, adults, or other students. Over 95% of the behavioral referrals in my school fall into one of these categories. Having spent time in and out of school for behavior consequences, I feel like I can empathize with students, as well as try to understand their rationale and motivation behind the behavior. I vowed to deal with student behavior differently! Getting kids to own their behavior is a premise I instill daily. I believe all behavior is language: we just need to listen and watch more closely to see what students are really telling us. After garnering ownership of the behavior, the next step is having students repair the relationship. This can be with a teacher or a peer. Modeling language, practicing that verbiage, and giving students some choice in how they want to repair this relationship makes students understand what is most important… the relationships. I am a colossal fan of Restorative Justice. Restorative Justice promotes students repairing relationships first and foremost. This was not the case in my school experience. I remember one administrator in high school asked me, "You have two choices: 1) Would you like me to call your father, or 2) You can choose that I won't write you a letter of recommendation when you graduate?" Guess what I chose?
Relate to Parents More Effectively
Parents sometimes don't know how to react when I tell them about a behavior incident dealing with their kid. Sometimes the parent wants to learn more and question me; sometimes they are embarrassed and apologetic; and sometimes they admit they flat out don't have the skills to support their student and don't know what to do. My phone conversations usually start out with this verbiage, "Good afternoon. This is Jon Konen from school. Do you have a couple minutes? How are you today?" (These questions let me know a little into how parents may or may not react to the relaying of the upcoming behavior incident). I continue with the following, "I am here working with Johnny on an incident that occurred this afternoon. We are calling to let you know what happened, and how we are fixing it." (This lets parents know that we are already on to the solution.) "Little Johnny owns the fact that he hit another student outside when he was upset over a football game. Johnny has already met with the student, apologized, and now we are coming up with a plan for success at recess." If parents are struggling with this information, I can then draw from my vast behavior experiences and employ my stories. It reaffirms with parents that, yes, your kid made a mistake, but we can fix it. I, too, made mistakes, and they can be fixed!
More Creative with Consequences
Punitive and retributive consequences do not always work with young students. In fact, handing out punitive consequences only works when it decreases the big three: intensity, frequency, or duration of an unwanted behavior. All of the consequences I received throughout my schooling involved lost recesses, in-school suspensions, and even out-of-school suspensions that did not affect the big three! I can now employ more teaching and re-teaching. The use of social stories and restorative practices has supported a climate where relationships come first. When a student is removed from the classroom for being a learning disruption, there are two upcoming conversations that are equally important: 1) how to fix the behavior, and 2) how to fix the relationship. Supporting students with this process is vital. Many students of any age do not have the words to fix the situation. After getting ownership of the behavior and helping the students feel empathy towards the person who is victimized, we practice verbiage, and many times I go with the student to hold them accountable. I may have to support them with actually following through with the actions. We also work on the body language that we use to deliver the information, and we teach what that looks like in a respectful manner. Next, we praise the student for fixing the relationship. I then give them ideas and strategies they can use when they encounter the same situation. NOTE: We had successfully reduced office referrals by 67% as of November 1, 2016.
Culture is More Important
"Out for blood" is the terminology I use when someone wants a harsher punishment for student behavior. I remember being in a parent-teacher conference with my parents and all my teachers and high school principal were sitting at the same table. They were deciding on what my consequences would be if I continued getting in trouble. They focused on what I was doing wrong and emphasized how they would increase the punitive consequences each time. This was not very effective for me as I continued to get in trouble. My dad's hair changed from gray to bald quickly while I was in junior high and high school. (Dad, I continue to apologize…and yes, Karma is catching me daily.) Don't get me wrong, there are some circumstances where I will still use in-school suspension and even out-of-school suspensions for students. Using suspension consequences to control unwanted behavior has proven less effective than using restorative practices in our school. When safety is a concern where physical aggression, a weapon, or complete and continued disrespect occurs, ISS and possibly OSS might be warranted. That school year, we used one out-of-school suspension in our school. Compared with the previous six years, that was three to four times fewer. Some educators want to see stiffer punishments or consequences that are more retributive. This may work with a small percentage of students, but in our school, we found restorative practices more useful for addressing behavior and building the culture we wanted. How we treat each other and what we spend our time highlighting tells the story of our school. Our story includes daily affirmations from students about other students doing the correct thing. Every morning I read slips of paper where students have observed someone else in our school being kind to someone else. I then staple all of these slips of paper on a bulletin board so everyone can read them. In a little over a quarter of that year, 500 acts of kindness were recognized and read over the PA. Students love hearing their name read, and love highlighting other students in our school. It definitely promotes more kids wanting to participate. We do the same thing with staff members. Staff members write down acts of kindness by other teachers. I read them at the end of all staff meetings. These two easy-to-run programs can help change the culture of your school. I believe we are creating a socially conscious school that works hard on academics, and even harder at relationships!
Karma is a crazy thing if you believe in it. I sometimes wonder about the profession I chose. Then I remember: my calling is to support kids and families!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is worse, ISS or OSS?
Most students say OSS is the easier one, since it means a day at home instead of a day in a monitored room. Schools may use OSS for more serious or repeated conduct, subject to state law and district policy. On behavior outcomes, researchers have raised concerns about exclusionary discipline of either kind, particularly when it is not paired with behavioral supports or interventions.
What does OSS mean in school?
OSS stands for out-of-school suspension. The student is removed from campus for a set number of days, and whether they can be on school grounds or attend school activities during that time is set by district policy. Some states cap the length in statute. Texas, for example, limits an out-of-school suspension to three school days.
How long does in-school suspension usually last?
Length is set by the district's code of conduct rather than by any national standard, so it varies. In many districts, a single incident draws a short placement, and repeated or more serious conduct can move a student to out-of-school suspension or another placement instead. Your student handbook is the document that states the actual range.
Do students still get their schoolwork during a suspension?
In ISS, assignments are typically sent down from the student's teachers and completed under supervision. During OSS, how work is provided and made up varies by district. Attendance treatment differs too, and the two placements are often counted differently. Your school's student code of conduct is the document that spells all of this out.
- Location is the difference - ISS keeps a student on campus in a supervised room, OSS sends them home for a set number of days.
- Removal alone teaches nothing - researchers have raised concerns about exclusionary discipline of either kind when it is not paired with behavioral supports that address why the behavior happened.
- Look for the motivation - over 95% of the referrals in my school came down to a student trying to avoid or obtain something: attention, objects, tasks, adults, or other students.
- Repair comes after ownership - getting a student to own the behavior is step one, and helping them repair the relationship is what actually sticks.
- IEPs carry extra protection - IDEA provides additional disciplinary protections for students with disabilities, and removals exceeding 10 consecutive school days, or a pattern of shorter removals totaling more than 10 days, can constitute a change of placement.
Handling behavior well is a learned skill, and most preparation programs cover it thinly. If restorative practice is the direction you want your classroom or your building to go, the education programs listed on this page include coursework in classroom management and school leadership. Several run part-time for people already working in schools.
As a 5th grade teacher, in 2010 Jon won the Presidential Award for Elementary Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). As a principal, his school won the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award. In 2018, he won the National Distinguished Principal Award (NDP). In 2019 he won the National No Kid Hungry Breakfast Hero Award.
Jon is the author of three guides published on teacher.org: An Educator's Guide to Combat Bullying & Bully Prevention; Teacher Evaluation: A Transition Guide to Exemplary Performance; and You are the Wild Card: Infusing Fun Back into Curriculum. He has authored a children's picture book that was released January 2019 titled Benjamin’s Visit to Principal Reads Office…again! (available at www.archwaypublishing.com)
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