Boston Public "Chapter Sixty-seven" O.A.D. 9/19/03(Episode 401)
When Ronnie catches a student, Joseph, trying to rape a student, Marie, in the basement, she urges the victim to press charges. Marie refuses, claiming the encounter was consensual.
An undeterred Ronnie pushes the DA to go ahead and press charges against Joseph since Ronnie was an eye witness. Marie begs her to not pursue this any further. She has a secret she doesn’t want revealed – Marie’s a transsexual. To protect Marie's privacy, Ronnie asks the DA to drop all charges against Joseph.
Meanwhile, Guber goes on the warpath and expels a student, Alan Carpenter, for taking an illegal medication to help his stuttering. Carpenter takes Guber and Winslow to court so he can be reinstated. Guber is further riled up when he must go on television to defend the school's position on dispensing the morning-after pill.
Feeling increasingly ineffective, Harper is upset that Guber frequently undermines his authority by making crucial decisions without consulting him. Also, Guber asks Marylin on a date, but she lets him down easy, telling him that she is dating someone else. Guber disguises his hurt feelings but is devastated when he spots Marylin and Harper kissing in the school parking lot.
Carmen, the new spitfire physics teacher, causes a stir when she insists on teaching her classes in Spanish.
Boston Public "Chapter Sixty-eight" O.A.D. 10/03/03(Episode 402)
Rosie, the arrogant and cruel captain of the cheerleading team, is attacked with a knife in the school parking lot. Her mother tells Guber that she suspects the mother of one of the other cheerleaders who would be motivated by getting her daughter elected captain.
Guber discovers that the two mothers have a long history of cheerleading rivalry at Winslow. Despite initially suspecting the mother, Guber flushes out that it was the daughter Molly, who attacked Rosie, in an attempt to stop being pressured to live up to her.
Meanwhile, a Jewish student, Peter Feldman, has an electrical accident in Hanson’s class and wakes up thinking he is Jesus Christ. The student body and teachers become enthralled by Peter’s messages, but Hanson refuses to believe and tries to scare Peter straight. After Hanson witnesses Peter refusing to fight back when he is attacked, he has a change of heart.
Meanwhile, Carmen tries to stop Jake, a handsome bad-boy transfer student, from corrupting a female student in one of her classes. When she takes her protests to Harper, she learns that Jake is an undercover narcotics officer and is using the female student to try and crack a drug ring run by her brother. Acting on advice from Marilyn, Harper tries to be more effusive with praise for his teachers but his actions backfire.
Boston Public "Chapter Sixty-nine" O.A.D. 9/26/03(Episode 403)
Rosie, the arrogant and cruel captain of the cheerleading team, is attacked with a knife in the school parking lot. Her mother tells Guber that she suspects the mother of one of the other cheerleaders who would be motivated by getting her daughter elected captain.
Guber discovers that the two mothers have a long history of cheerleading rivalry at Winslow. Despite initially suspecting the mother, Guber flushes out that it was the daughter Molly, who attacked Rosie, in an attempt to stop being pressured to live up to her.
Meanwhile, a Jewish student, Peter Feldman, has an electrical accident in Hanson’s class and wakes up thinking he is Jesus Christ. The student body and teachers become enthralled by Peter’s messages, but Hanson refuses to believe and tries to scare Peter straight. After Hanson witnesses Peter refusing to fight back when he is attacked, he has a change of heart.
Meanwhile, Carmen tries to stop Jake, a handsome bad-boy transfer student, from corrupting a female student in one of her classes. When she takes her protests to Harper, she learns that Jake is an undercover narcotics officer and is using the female student to try and crack a drug ring run by her brother. Acting on advice from Marilyn, Harper tries to be more effusive with praise for his teachers but his actions backfire.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy" O.A.D. 10/17/03(Episode 404)
When Marla chastises a female student about her provocative dress, the girl becomes enraged and slaps her face in front of the class. Stunned, Marla slaps her back and is called before the board in order to save her job.
Hanson and Claire are called in to Allison’s school to discuss how she is bullying other children. Hanson launches into a tirade against the teacher before Claire forces him to realize that he is affecting Allison’s personality in a negative way.
Carmen tries to convince Harper to remove Jake from her class because he asked her out and it’s making her feel uncomfortable. Then she tries to get Jenn to stop seeing Jake and tells her not to do anything stupid just to impress a guy. Jake realizes how delicate his situation is when Jenn overdoses in an attempt to impress him after he ignores her at a party. Carmen begins to feel sympathetic for Jake when he feels bad about Jenn.
Initially Marla refuses to apologize to the board for the slapping incident, but after the student she slapped apologizes to her, she decides to try and save her job with an impassioned plea in front of the board.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy One" O.A.D. 10/24/03(Episode 405)
Harper is ordered by a judge to hire Charlie Bixby, a former hotshot broker convicted of an SEC violation, to teach a mathematics class as part of his probation. At first, Charlie spends most of his time in class talking about supermodels and private jets. However, after he has an incident with a young student who is a ecutter’, he realizes that he must take the job more seriously.
Hanson discovers that Taylor, a student he has been coaching in bicycle racing, has a rare muscular disease that will rob him of the ability to walk in two years. He encourages the student to leave Winslow and see the world while he still has the power to do so but Harper disagrees and threatens to punish Hanson.
Guber turns 50 and comes to the realization that he has no future with Marilyn. On his way home from work, he is in a car accident and meets a woman who seems perfect for him and Guber gets a new lease on life.
Meanwhile, Jake finally busts Jenn’s brother but uses him to lead him to the dealer who supplies the drugs. Jenn sees Carmen and Jake kissing and inadvertently blows his cover in the big showdown with the supplier. Jake is shot after they discover his wire. In a final scene, Carmen must tell Jenn that Jake has died. Jenn accuses her of being unable to follow her own advice and stay away from Jake.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-two" O.A.D. 11/03/03(Episode 406)
When Marilyn presents a prestigious award to a Winslow student that includes a full scholarship to Julliard, the student gives her a big kiss on the podium. Harper becomes very upset by this and decides to suspend the student for molesting a teacher. This suspension drives a wedge between him and Marilyn, who believes that he is acting out of jealousy and not as a good principal. When the student finds out that Harper and Marilyn have been secretly dating, he threatens to go in front of the board and reveal their relationship in order to have his suspension lifted. Harper has a change of heart when he realizes how deeply Marilyn felt for him and reduces the student’s suspension so that it will not jeopardize his scholarship. He kisses Marilyn in the teachers lounge and announces his love for her in front of all the other teachers.
Guber has a date with Violet but has difficulty accepting that she is seeing other men as well. Charlie Bixby tries to convince Guber to just take her like she is, but he is unable to do so. He finally tells Violet he can’t see her anymore, but she comes to him and says she will give monogamy a try.
Meanwhile, Hanson and Claire try to help a homosexual student who is having difficulty with his homophobic father but in the end they are unable to reach him and he runs away.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-three" O.A.D. 11/07/03(Episode 407)
Charlie begins to volunteer at the teen hotline and becomes involved with a boy who is thinking about suicide. Despite his unconventional approach, the boy connects with him and Charlie sets up a meeting to try and talk to him about his feelings. When the district insists that Charlie set up a meeting with the psychiatrist, the student feels betrayed and Charlie is forced to apologize.
Carmen struggles with Jenn’s anger over the death of Jake. She learns that Jen might be put in a group home but that she also has the opportunity to go to Minnesota and live with relatives. Carmen reveals to Jenn that she is a recovering alcoholic and convinces her to go to Minnesota in order to have a better chance at success.
Marla decides that she wants to try in-vitro fertilization and asks Stephen to be the donor. Stephen goes to Marilyn for help with the decision and it leads to a discussion of the future of their relationship. Marla reconsiders the procedure after she faces the enormous costs and potential health risks. After much soul searching, Harper tells Marla that he can’t be her donor in good conscience, but Hanson steps up and tells Marla that if she ever decides to have IFV he would be willing to donate.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-four" O.A.D. 12/05/03(Episode 408)
Harper discovers that a student has been accessing a terrorist recruiting website from the school library and decides to call in the FBI. The FBI questions an Arab-American student and his younger sister. Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, word gets around Winslow that the student is a terrorist and the other students begin harass both him and his younger sister. When Harper learns that the students will be pulled from the school, he calls an assembly to let everyone know that he will not tolerate prejudice of any kind.
Meanwhile, Ronnie learns that one of her students has HIV due to poor sexual health information and becomes convinced to start a club where accurate information can be given out to students. At first, the students are reluctant to ask questions but Ronnie makes it more casual and the club prospers. However, Harper is forced to shut the club down because the board demands that only abstinence is taught at Winslow.
Danny and Claire continue to search for Julien. His mother joins them in the search after they convince her to leave her abusive husband. They find Julien and he goes to live with his mother.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-five" O.A.D. 01/09/04(Episode 409)
When acts of hazing begin to disrupt the school, Guber traces it back to the school drumline and discovers that they are initiating the freshman. He wants to take them out of the state competition, but Marilyn appeals to Harper and he makes an exception and lets her handle the problem within her team. But the abuse escalates and one student is gravely injured. Harper realizes that he was affected in his judgment by their relationship.
Hansonfs student run television station produces a documentary about Ronnie and despite her fears of how it will turn out, it is very flattering and poignant.
Marla meets the father of one of her teachers when he is sentenced to being handcuffed to his son for a week. He asks her over for dinner and she learns that the family has been torn apart by the death of his wife and the disruptive studentfs mother. She helps the family to reconnect and forces the father to see the importance of spending time with his son.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-six" O.A.D. 12/19/03(Episode 410)
When Peter Feldman (the boy who believes he is Jesus) collapses at school, Guber becomes determined to find out exactly what has happened to the boy. He retraces his steps the day before he was electrocuted and discovers that Peter witnessed a very traumatic accident that killed a child.
When he confronts Peter about the truth, Peter admits that he had felt guilty about not being able to help the child. Despite Guberfs misgivings about Christmas, he makes a sacrifice to continue the food bank that Peter started for the homeless when he thought he was Jesus.
Marilyn gets a visit from her abusive ex-husband who is asking for an annulment in order to remarry. She is upset by his sudden appearance and ultimately decides to refuse to sign the annulment.
Joanie returns to see Allison and Danny, and Claire must face the realization that she may try to take her away. But when Joanie arrives, she tells them that shefs only able to battle her alcoholism because she knows Allison is being cared for.
Carmen and Marla struggle to find a band to play at the holiday music fundraiser. They inadvertently hire REM, and are able to save the music program with a very successful fundraiser.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-seven" O.A.D. 1/16/04(Episode 411)
When Peter Feldman (the boy who believes he is Jesus) collapses at school, Guber becomes determined to find out exactly what has happened to the boy. He retraces his steps the day before he was electrocuted and discovers that Peter witnessed a very traumatic accident that killed a child.
When he confronts Peter about the truth, Peter admits that he had felt guilty about not being able to help the child. Despite Guber’s misgivings about Christmas, he makes a sacrifice to continue the food bank that Peter started for the homeless when he thought he was Jesus.
Marilyn gets a visit from her abusive ex-husband who is asking for an annulment in order to remarry. She is upset by his sudden appearance and ultimately decides to refuse to sign the annulment.
Joanie returns to see Allison and Danny, and Claire must face the realization that she may try to take her away. But when Joanie arrives, she tells them that she’s only able to battle her alcoholism because she knows Allison is being cared for.
Carmen and Marla struggle to find a band to play at the holiday music fundraiser. They inadvertently hire REM, and are able to save the music program with a very successful fundraiser.
Boston Public "Chapter Seventy-eight" O.A.D. 1/23/04(Episode 412)
When the young republican club holds a bake sale to show their view on affirmative action, the school sits poised on the verge of a race riot. Harper discovers that Marilyn doesn’t share his political beliefs on race and has a hard time dealing with the realization that they have very different views.
When relations among the students reach a boiling point, the teachers hold a debate in front of the entire student body discussing the pros and cons of affirmative action. Harper realizes he must allow Marilyn to have her own beliefs. A new art teacher, HENRY, has his first day on the job and struggles with the budgetary restraints that come with public school teaching. He creates an installation using the desks in the classroom and welds them to the ceiling. After Guber threatens to fire him, Henry goes to Ronnie and uses her guidance office as a makeshift therapy session.
When a 28 year old former student and troublemaker decides to finally get her diploma, she must repeat Harvey’s history class to graduate. Harvey is unable to deal with her because of all the history between them and Harper encourages the girl to be the adult in the class. After Harvey learns that the student is doing it for her daughter, he gives her an oral exam and allows her to get her diploma.