The School Discipline Lab Research Hub
The Use of Out of School Suspensions: Prevalence by Race and Region
“Black students experience the highest rates of OSS exclusion of any racial or ethnic group across all four regions.”
The Plight of Persistently Disciplined Students: Examining Frequent Flyers and the Conversion of Office Discipline Referrals into Suspensions
Increasing attention has been paid to rural education policy and research, yet few studies have examined the conceptualization of rural school districts. This study provides a conceptual and empirical examination of the definitions of rural districts. The results illustrate that a common, singular definition of rural is elusive and there is a prevailing notion of rural as “not urban.” Regardless of the operationalization of rurality, there are statistically significant differences across urban and rural districts in terms of their size, complexity, demographic composition, segregation, educational resources, economic structure, economic and social context, and academic and equity-related outcomes. Implications are discussed.
In-School as the Suspension of Choice: Nationwide Prevalence
“Hence we start the state of school discipline with a look at the overall and race-specific prevalence of ISS across the South, West, Midwest, and Northeast.”
Does rural mean not urban? Reconsidering the conceptualization and operationalization of rural school districts
Increasing attention has been paid to rural education policy and research, yet few studies have examined the conceptualization of rural school districts. This study provides a conceptual and empirical examination of the definitions of rural districts. The results illustrate that a common, singular definition of rural is elusive and there is a prevailing notion of rural as “not urban.” Regardless of the operationalization of rurality, there are statistically significant differences across urban and rural districts in terms of their size, complexity, demographic composition, segregation, educational resources, economic structure, economic and social context, and academic and equity-related outcomes. Implications are discussed.
School Leadership, Race, and School Discipline: Examining the Relationship between School-Leader-Student Racial Congruence and the Likelihood of Exclusionary Discipline
Racial disparities in disciplinary outcomes are a salient educational policy and equity issue. Most of the research on school discipline focuses on teachers rather than school leaders and prior studies have largely examined principals’ attitudes. This study uses data from a mid-sized urban district to examine how student-school leader race interactions influence the likelihood of receiving suspensions conditional on receiving an infraction, with specific focus on Black, Latinx and White students and both principals and assistant principals (APs).
Administering discipline: An examination of the factors shaping school discipline practices
School discipline is a significant educational policy and equity issue in K-12 education due to well-documented racial inequality in exclusionary discipline and the deleterious effects of exclusionary discipline on academic and adult outcomes. Drawing on interviews with district and school administrators and teachers in an “urban-emergent” district, this exploratory qualitative case study identifies and explicates the key factors that shape disciplinary practices within schools. Two major factors emerge as critical to school discipline practices in K-12 schools: (a) teacher preparation and (b) modeling of effective school discipline practices (how school leaders support teachers and how mentors support school leaders in the disciplinary process). Four key themes regarding teacher preparation emerge (a) relationship building, (b) classroom management, (c) cultural responsiveness and proficiency, and (d) experiential learning. The race and gender of educators permeate these factors. Implications for education policy and practice are discussed.
Adding Color to My Tears: Toward a Theoretical Framework for Antiblackness in School Discipline
“In this essay, we draw from Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) to present a theoretical framework that researchers and educational stakeholders can use to specify, study, and understand antiblackness in school discipline.”
The Ties that Bind: An Examination of School-Family Relationships and Middle School Discipline in New York City
Inequities in exclusionary discipline result from a complex process involving students, families, and school personnel. However, little research has explored the topic from parent perspectives. This study used parent survey data from New York City to investigate the link between school-family relationships and students experiencing exclusionary discipline. Results indicate that stronger parental trust toward teachers is connected to a reduced probability that a student receives an office discipline referral, while greater trust in principals is associated with a lower chance of suspension. Several aspects of school-family relationships, such as parent-principal trust, parental involvement, and school outreach and communication, heterogeneously predict a lower likelihood of experiencing exclusionary discipline by student race and special education status. These findings demonstrate the interdependent role of families and school staff in child development and highlight the need to cultivate positive school-family relationships as a potential strategy for addressing exclusionary discipline disparities.
Moving from pathology to politicized care: Examining Black school leaders’ perspectives on school discipline
“In this qualitative case study, we apply the theoretical lenses of politicized caring and internalized racism to 12 semi-structured interviews with Black principals and assistant principals in an urban emergent district in Southeastern U.S. to examine how Black school leaders make sense of and address racial disparities in school discipline. “
Beating the School Discipline Odds: Conceptualizing and Examining Inclusive Disciplinary Schools in New York City
“Racial inequality in school discipline is a salient challenge in the United States. Using New York City as a case, this study examines inclusive disciplinary schools (IDS) or schools that have “beat the school discipline odds”. IDS, median disciplinary schools (MDS), and high disciplinary schools (HDS) have vastly different exclusionary discipline rates for Black and Latinx students (both suspensions and office discipline referrals). “
Up the Down Escalator? Examining a Decade of School Discipline Reforms
“Racial inequality in exclusionary discipline is one of the salient educational equity challenges facing educational stakeholders in the United States (U.S.). This study synthesizes recent empirical evidence (2010–2022) on the effectiveness of school discipline reforms in the U.S. A.”