Security tapes of the girls' shower room are missing... with footage of Lauren on them. Marla sends her entire class to the principal's office. Anthony's hit list is found. Lauren and Harry break up.

Scott fires an art teacher twice. Christine Banks dies of a heart attack after winning a wrestling match. Harry finds out Dana Poole has become a stripper. Marla insults janitors and she finds one of her student's father is a janitor.

Ronnie's career at Winslow High gets off to a precarious start when Guber sees her in a compromising position. Meanwhile, Lauren tries to help a straight-A student get into Princeton, but Harper wants to transfer the student to a continuation school because she is pregnant. Also Mrs. Peters, looking very different, volunteers as a teacher's assistant at Winslow.

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.

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.

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.

Temporary synopsis from TV Guide:

Harsh echoes resound from the student riot; the Danny-Marla confrontations lead to racist allegations against her; a drug deal entraps one of Guber's prized pupils.

Violence and compassion commingle in this insightful episode. In the main plot, a rebellious, Irish-American teen squares off against an offended, African-American classmate in a racially incited brawl that distresses their caring teacher and leads to a more contentious fray with principal Harper. In other storylines, Winslow teachers undergo peer evaluations where Ronnie reluctantly grades Zach, with whom she has a somewhat romantic involvement; and Marla seeks to arrange medical help for a hearing-impaired student, whose parents aren't receptive.