The big difference in schools between now and back in the day is the fact that parents seem to automatically take the side of their children over the school. Parents are awfully quick now to threaten lawsuits anytime their little darlings are disciplined. And this "question authority" impulse cuts across class and racial lines.
Threaten lawsuits, indeed! So there is the deeply buried root of this social problem (and many others)...entirely too d**ned many lawyers, with nothing better to do (like getting a REAL job;)