A statewide analysis of school discipline policies and suspension practices

Abstract

The majority of the research on school suspension practices has focused on individual student-level factors and their relationship to school suspension practices. A substantial number of studies have examined race and/or disability status as predictors of suspension (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018; Krezmien, Travers, & Camacho, 2017; Sullivan, Klingbeil, & Van Norman, 2013; Vincent, Sprague, & Tobin, 2012; Wright, Morgan, Coyne, Beaver, & Barnes, 2014). They have consistently found that African American students and students with disabilities are more likely to be suspended from school compared to White students and students without disabilities. Fewer studies have focused on school-level factors that are associated with disproportionate suspension practices. These studies have found that secondary schools suspend more students than elementary schools (Butler, Lewis, Moore, & Scott, 2012; Camacho & Krezmien, 2018). Schools with lower academic achievement (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018; Skiba et al., 2014), higher retention rates (Christle, Nelson, & Jolivette, 2004), and more highly qualified teachers (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018; Losen, Simmons, Staudinger-Poloni, Rausch, & Skiba, 2003) had lower suspension rates. Schools with higher percentages of Black students (Skiba et al., 2014), higher dropout rates (Christle et al., 2004), and higher mobility rates (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018; Hemphill, Plenty, Herrenkohl, Toumbourou, & Catalano, 2014) placed students at higher risk for suspension. Despite these consistent findings, there has been relatively little research examining school discipline policies (Fenning et al., 2008) and the relationship between school discipline policies and discipline outcomes.

Keywords:

• School discipline
• code of conduct
• out-of-school suspension
• disproportionate suspension practices
• discipline policies

Notes

1 Hispanic n = 45.