A preliminary review of early responses to a questionnaire sent to secondary school principals across the United States revealed that most administrators felt more rigorous due process procedures should be followed in discipline cases than those required by federal regulations and school policies. The principals also tended to believe that corporal punishment should be permitted under certain circumstances and that both inadequate teacher training concerning discipline and a lack of adequate alternative programs for students were the major factors limiting schools' abilities to maintain order. The 120 completed questionnaires from which these findings came were the first returns from the National Center for Education Statistics' study of School Discipline Policies and Practices. A random sample of 900 public schools housing secondary grades was selected to participate in the survey. The survey questions focus on the procedures required before short-term suspensions, the training given teachers, the use of corporal punishment, perceived obstacles to achieving discipline, practices implemented to improve discipline, and the current extent of discipline problems. Particular attention was paid to the impact of federal court decisions on school discipline policy and to the relationship of school policy to actual practice. (PGD)