Exclusionary discipline in U.S. public schools: A comparative examination of use in Pre-Kindergarten and K-12 grades

ABSTRACT

The use of exclusionary discipline (ExD) was compared for U.S. public pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) and K-12 grades within the same school. ExD rates were 10 times higher in K-12 than in Pre-K when calculated for all schools but ExD rates were comparable for schools that reported at least one case of ExD in Pre-K. Additionally, disparities in the use of ExD were observed for both Pre-K and K-12 schools: higher rates were found for boys relative to girls, for Black children relative to White children, and for charter schools relative to non-charter schools. While most schools did not use ExD, when they did, they did so at high rates. The use of ExD appears to be associated with school-level factors including a culture of use.

KEYWORDS:

• Exclusionary Discipline
• Suspension
• Expulsion
• Pre-Kindergarten
• Public Schools

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research was supported by a grant from the Administration of Children and Families (90Y#0122-01-00). Richard A. Fabes also was supported by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, (R305A180028). The authors also wish to thank Faith Mackenzie and Veronica Brady for their many helpful contributions to this research. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the ACF, IES, the U.S. Department of Education. We have no conflicts of interest to report.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Administration for Children and Families [90Y#0122-01-00]; U.S. Department of Education [R305A180028].

Notes on contributors

Richard A. Fabes

Richard A. Fabes is the John O. Whiteman Distinguished Professor of Child Development at Arizona State University. His research has focused on social-emotional development of young children with interests in peer relationships, school readiness, prosocial behavior, empathy and compassion, and in how we manage students and classrooms. With the new grant from the Administration and Families, he is the Principal Investigator of the PEDS team. In this work, he is collaborating with several faculty and postdoctoral fellows to delineate the use of exclusionary discipline with young students and in identifying and addressing the disparities that exist in its use.

Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick is a geographic information scientist and urban planner who focuses on the development of quantitative methods for spatial and spatiotemporal data and the application of these methods to issues in urban planning, criminology, urban geography, and health. His current research areas are in the development of spatiotemporal models for multiple outcomes, policy evaluation, neighborhood change, and cluster identification. His research aims to inform and evaluate place-based policies focused on community safety, public health, and socio-spatial inequality. 

Evandra Catherine

Evandra Catherine is a postdoctoral research scholar on the Children’s Equity Project. Her research interests include using a practice-based coaching professional development model to support preschool teachers’ use of emotionally supportive behaviors with Black boys. Dr. Catherine’s dissertation examined the effect of a practice-based coaching model on preschool teachers’ use of emotionally supportive responses to negative emotional expressions of Black boys.

Aryn Musgrave

Aryn Musgrave is now a GIS Technician at City of Phoenix - Parks and Recreation. She is passionate about envisioning and implementing solutions to sustainability challenges. I believe that through the strategic use of data and creativity, we can ensure a sustainable future for our society.