Boston Public

Senate is outraged when he learns that a prized student purchased a college-application essay over the Internet. Hanson's class decides to sue Lipschultz in court for defamation of character after he calls a student a derogatory term.

Harper's headstrong daughter Brooke enrolls at Winslow High after she is kicked out of private school. Meanwhile, when Ronnie is disappointed that her class is not learning Shakespeare, her ex-suitor Matthew Baskin, who continues to pursue her, offers a unique way to reach her and her students.

Hanson is arrested after a domestic dispute, causing Harper to seriously consider firing him. Lauren is skeptical when a student decides to drop out because a record company wants to sign her, and Harper is livid when he discovers that someone close to him has been anonymously dispensing sex advice in the student newspaper.

A statutory-rape case entangles Ronnie with the enraged parents of the 15-year-old victim; an illicit-drug situation embroils Harper with his unsettled daughter

Harper reunites with his ex-wife at a holiday benefit; students ask Louisa, Marilyn and Marla to perform at the pageant; Senate stays mum about a student's tragic secret so that the boy's family can enjoy Christmas.

A revelation concerning Jeremy fractures the relationship between his mother and Guber; a plea from a death-row inmate troubles Harper; a student's ADD affliction disquiets Ronnie.

Tensions escalate among Meredith, Jeremy and Guber, who seek family counseling; controversy swirls around a student's class-project photo and a speech by Lipschultz.

Guber accepts Lauren's offer of a platonic date; Ronnie confronts a student about her pregnancy; Hanson helps his students cope with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Harper gets steamed when he finds out his daughter is dating a 27-year-old man; Guber and Senate's students get ready to rumble in a debate.

The faculty decide to have a staff talent show to lighten the mood at Winslow. Lipschultz asks Ronnie to sing a duet with him at the talent show but she convinces him that Marylin is just waiting to be asked. Meanwhile Danny befriends one of his Cerebral Palsey kids and arranges for him to attend Winslow. The mood is severely challenged when a student finds a notebook with plans for a bombing and shooting spree at Winslow

A student's illness rattles Senate, who's haunted by feelings of futility; a teen's eating disorder upsets Lauren, who's also unnerved by an web site advocating anorexia.

The students and teachers at Winslow High School deal with the tragedy of a car accident caused by a drunken driver; Senate tries to convince a man to keep his son in school; Marla and Meredith clash over teaching methods.

Controversy strikes Hanson's classroom over a reviled racial epithet; Ronnie draws ire for a class assignment to experience life as a homeless person.

Ronnie tries to persuade an 18-year-old student not to pose for a racy magazine; Guber and Meredith disagree about a classroom incident; Lauren and Marylin are questioned about their teaching methods.

Ronnie catches a student performing a crime; two female students tell Marylin about their sexual conversations online with an older man.

Ronnie invites high-school staffers to a surprise birthday party for Senate at her apartment, but he shocks everybody by showing up with a former student.

As the prom approaches, female students outrage the faculty when they auction themselves as dates, while Harper deals with angry students who oppose his allowing a gay student to compete for the queen's crown.

One of Senate's most promising students and his brother become entangled in criminal acts with fatal results; Hanson draws criticism for sending a letter to a girl's parents because she is overweight.

Staff and students at Winslow High struggle to get on with their lives after a number of tragic events.