Beating the school discipline odds: conceptualizing and examining inclusive disciplinary schools in New York City

ABSTRACT

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). The schooling environments of IDS differ from those of HDS and MDS. IDS have greater teacher and school leader diversity, more experienced teachers and school administrators, and a more positive school climate than HDS. Poverty and unemployment rates, crime rates, education levels, and the proportion of Black and foreign-born residents vary significantly across the neighborhoods of IDS, MDS, and HDS. These results remain largely consistent across limiting IDS to predominantly Black schools, predominantly Latinx schools, or predominantly low-income schools. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• School discipline
• suspensions
• equity
• exclusionary discipline

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Richard O. Welsh

Richard O. Welsh, PhD, is associate professor of education and public policy at the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University. His research focuses on understanding and transforming inequality in K–12 education, and his scholarship interests include urban education, the economics of education, school discipline, student mobility, the politics of education, and research–practice partnerships.

Luis A. Rodriguez

Luis A. Rodriguez, PhD, is assistant professor of education leadership and policy studies at New York University. His research focuses on understanding how school organizational conditions, education reform, and broader sociopolitical factors affect the P–12 educator workforce and its ability to generate positive outcomes for students.

Blaise B. Joseph

Blaise B. Joseph is a PhD candidate in educational leadership and policy studies at New York University. His research focuses on understanding high-achieving schools in historically under-resourced communities and their implications for education equity and policy in both the United States and Australia.