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.

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

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.