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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for school suspensions
50 results foundAuthor: Moss, Kary Title: Reclaiming Michigan's Throwaway Kids: Students Trapped in the School to Prison Pipeline Summary: This report documents the disproportionate suspensions of public students of African descent in a significant number of school districts throughout Michigan. The school-to-prison pipeline problem experienced by these students and others is due in significant part to the following: a.) Lack of universal access to quality education; b.) Institutional obstacles that limit educational opportunities of children enrolled in school; c.) The loss of educational opportunities by large numbers of students because competing institutional concerns displace consideration of what is in the best interest of the child; d.) Sometimes insurmountable obstacles to restoration of lost educational opportunities; e.) The criminalization of students who lose their educational opportunities. These problems are manifested in the following specific ways: Access to Education • Children have no “right” to an education. Michigan’s constitution [Art. 8, Section 2] requires only that the state “maintain and support” a system of free schools in a nondiscriminatory manner. By contrast, the constitutions of more than 30 states require, in some form, that the state provide all children with a quality education. Michigan is one of only eleven states that fail to give students a right to a quality or adequate education. Thus, when Michigan’s racially disparate suspension and expulsion patterns and other factors remove large numbers of children from the educational system many have no prospects for access to additional education or the means to re-enter the educational system. Institutional Threats to Educational Opportunities • Michigan’s “zero tolerance” expulsion law is broader in scope than federal law requires, and it increases the chances of expulsion for all students, including students of African descent who are already expelled at high rates. The impact of this law on expulsion rates is compounded when administrators decline to exercise permissible discretion when considering whether the law’s harsh penalties are appropriate. • The absence of uniform procedural guidelines for suspensions and expulsions has sometimes resulted in failure to provide adequate opportunities for accused students to be heard and to otherwise defend themselves against accusations of misconduct. • The absence of safeguards against cultural misunderstanding, cultural ignorance and cultural conflict that account to some extent for disproportionate discipline of black students. • Some school districts’ failure to comply with laws that require evaluation and/or treatment of students with disabilities prior to suspension or expulsion. • Mechanical application of rules leading to suspension and expulsion without use of discretion or individualized consideration of circumstances that indicate that exclusion of certain children from school is inappropriate. Loss of Educational Opportunities • In a significant number of Michigan school districts, students of African descent are suspended and expelled at rates that are disproportionately high relative to their representation in the school population. In contrast, white students tend to be disciplined at rates that are proportionate to their numbers, or disproportionately less than their representation in the school population. • Many students who are suspended longterm, or who are expelled drop out of school altogether. Obstacles to Restoration of Lost Educational Opportunities • The process for readmission to school after expulsion is complex and may present insurmountable obstacles to low-income families that lack the wherewithal to prepare and timely submit required petitions. • Many students who have been suspended long-term or expelled have no alternative opportunities for learning or other productive activities. A 1985 Attorney General’s opinion that concluded that school districts are not required to establish or maintain alternative education programs has apparently contributed to confusion about whether, when and by whom these programs should be established. Nevertheless, Michigan’s statutory framework suggests that in some way, the state is responsible for providing alternative education opportunities to students who are excluded from school for extended periods of time. The Criminalization of Students • When school administrators refer some student discipline matters to law enforcement agencies, there is a consequent criminalization of many students whose offenses would otherwise have been dealt with entirely by school officials. • The growing presence in schools of “school resource officers,” and police personnel generally has resulted in not only arrests of students on school premises, but also incidents of police misconduct on school grounds. • It costs the state more to maintain a prisoner than it does to educate a student. This results in not only an immediate financial loss, but a long-term loss of the productive capacity of former students. Details: Detroit: American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, 2009. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2011 at: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/reclaimingmichigansthrowawaykids.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/reclaimingmichigansthrowawaykids.pdf Shelf Number: 121473 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention (Michigan)EducationRacial DisparitiesSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool Resource OfficersSchool SuspensionsStudent ExpulsionZero Tolerance |
Author: Fabelo, Tony Title: Breaking Schools' Rules: A Statewide Study on How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement Summary: This report describes the results of an extraordinary analysis of millions of school and juvenile justice records in Texas. It was conducted to improve policymakers’ understanding of who is suspended and expelled from public secondary schools, and the impact of those removals on students’ academic performance and juvenile justice system involvement. Like other states, school suspensions — and, to a lesser degree, expulsions—have become relatively common in Texas. For this reason and because Texas has the second largest public school system in the nation (where nonwhite children make up nearly two-thirds of the student population), this study’s findings have significance for — and relevance to — states across the country. Several aspects of the study make it groundbreaking. First, the research team did not rely on a sample of students, but instead examined individual school records and school campus data pertaining to all seventh-grade public school students in Texas in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Second, the analysis of each grade’s student records covered at least a six-year period, creating a statewide longitudinal study. Third, access to the state juvenile justice database allowed the researchers to learn about the school disciplinary history of youth who had juvenile records. Fourth, the study group size and rich datasets from the education and juvenile justice systems made it possible to conduct multivariate analyses. Using this approach, the researchers could control for more than 80 variables, effectively isolating the impact that independent factors had on the likelihood of a student’s being suspended and expelled, and on the relationship between these disciplinary actions and a student’s academic performance or juvenile justice involvement. Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center; College Station TX: Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M University, 2011. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2011 at: http://justicecenter.csg.org/resources/juveniles/ Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://justicecenter.csg.org/resources/juveniles/ Shelf Number: 122112 Keywords: Juvenile Justice PoliciesSchool SafetySchool SuspensionsStudent Discipline (Texas) |
Author: Kaba, Mariame Title: Policing Chicago Public Schools: A Gateway to the School-to-Prison Pipeline Summary: This report relies on data from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to show (for the first time in seven years) the type of offenses and the demographics (gender, age and race) of the juveniles arrested on Chicago Public Schools properties in calendar year 2010. We were limited because CPD reports data by police district rather than by individual school. In the 2003-2004 academic year, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) had about 1,700 security staff, nearly tripling in number in five years (2). We were unable to obtain the current number of security guards in CPS despite repeated requests. We are sure that this number exceeds the 1,700 from the 2003-2004 academic year. The presence of so many security staff and especially police officers in schools means that school discipline issues quickly turn into police records. In our discussions about the school-to-prison pipeline, we need concrete examples of how the process works. As such, it is important to understand the role that police and security staff play in our schools. Yet reports about police involvement in CPS have unfortunately not been readily available to the public. There is no easily accessible citywide or statewide data that illustrate how many students are arrested in schools each year. The last report that was written about the role of police in Chicago Public Schools was published in 2005 by the Advancement Project. That report, “Education on Lockdown,” found that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) referred over 8,000 students to law enforcement in 2003. Forty percent of these referrals were for simple assault or battery with no serious injuries. Most of these cases were dismissed (3). Our purpose in writing this report was to ensure that the public is informed about the scope and extent of policing in Chicago Public Schools. We hope that this will galvanize educators, parents, students, policymakers and community members to advocate for a dramatic decrease of CPS’s reliance on law enforcement to address school discipline issues. Instead, we would like to see an increase in the use of restorative justice, which is an effective approach, to respond to student misbehavior in our schools. In light of a push for budget austerity, limited resources should be re-directed away from policing and into affirming programs and opportunities for students. This, we believe, will improve the overall well-being of all stakeholders in the educational system (most especially students). We also call on our city council to improve data transparency by passing an ordinance requiring CPS and CPD to report quarterly on the numbers of students arrested in the district. Having timely and reliable information will support efforts to hold CPS and CPD accountable. Finally, we believe that student privacy should be protected rather than further eroded. Current reporting practices between schools and law enforcement do not need to be reformed to increase the exchange of student information between these parties. The key data points in the report are that: 1.Too many young people are still being arrested on CPS properties. Over 5,500 arrests of young people under 18 years old took place on CPS properties in 2010. If we include those between 18 and 20 years old, the number increases to over 6,100 arrests. 2.Black youth are disproportionately targeted by these arrests. While they represent 45% of CPS students, black youth account for 74% percent of juvenile school-based arrests. This mirrors the general trend of disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile legal system. For example, while they comprise only 34% of youth ages 5 to 17 in the city of Chicago, African American youth accounted for 76% of citywide juvenile arrests (youth 17 and under) in 2010. 3.Young men are much more likely to be arrested on CPS properties than are their female counterparts [73% vs. 27%]. 4.Male youth under 21 years old are most often arrested on CPS property for simple battery followed by drug abuse violations and disorderly conduct. Females under 21 are most often arrested for simple battery, disorderly conduct and miscellaneous non-index offenses. Nearly a third (27%) of school-based arrest offenses on CPS property are simple battery. This suggests that a significant number of CPS students are probably being arrested for fighting. 5.Certain police districts are more likely to arrest youth in schools than others. In particular, the highest aggregate (4) numbers of juvenile school-based arrests are in the 4th, 6th, 8th, 22nd, and 5th police districts. Together these five districts account for 39% of total juvenile school-based arrests on CPS properties. Details: Chicago: Project NIA, 2012. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 26, 2012 at: http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/report-policing-chicago-public-schools Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/report-policing-chicago-public-schools Shelf Number: 123767 Keywords: School Crimes (Chicago)School DisciplineSchool SafetySchool Suspensions |
Author: Sumner, Michael D. Title: School-Based Restorative Justice as an Alternative to Zero-Tolerance Policies: Lessons from West Oakland Summary: In this report we examine a pilot restorative justice program at a school that primarily served students of color from low-income families. We document the implementation of the program at Cole Middle School in West Oakland, California, and the observations and perceptions of those who participated in it. We also draw lessons from Cole’s experiences that we hope will be helpful to those interested in implementing school-based restorative justice. Restorative justice is an alternative to retributive zero-tolerance policies that mandate suspension or expulsion of students from school for a wide variety of misbehaviors including possession of alcohol or cigarettes, fighting, dress code violations, and cursing. Although zero-tolerance policies have resulted in substantial increases in student suspensions and expulsions for students of all races, African American and Hispanic/Latino youth are disproportionately impacted by a zero-tolerance approach. Under zero tolerance, suspensions and expulsions can directly or indirectly result in referrals to the juvenile and adult criminal systems where African American and Hispanic/Latino youth are also disproportionately represented. This phenomenon, part of a process that criminalizes students, has been termed the school-to-prison pipeline. Proponents of restorative justice have begun to promote school-based restorative justice as an alternative to zero-tolerance policies. Restorative justice is a set of principles and practices grounded in the values of showing respect, taking responsibility, and strengthening relationships. When harm occurs, restorative justice focuses on repair of harm and prevention of re-occurrence. Although preliminary research suggests that school-based restorative justice reduces violence, school suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to the juvenile and criminal justice systems, little research looks at the impact of restorative justice programs as an alternative to zero-tolerance policies for youth of color. This research seeks to fill that gap. The findings presented in this report are based on a case study of a single school conducted by researchers at the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Data are drawn from observations, openended interviews and a questionnaire along with statistics collected from published reports from the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and the California Department of Education. Details: Berkeley, CA: Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2010. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 26, 2012 at http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/11-2010_School-based_Restorative_Justice_As_an_Alternative_to_Zero-Tolerance_Policies.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/11-2010_School-based_Restorative_Justice_As_an_Alternative_to_Zero-Tolerance_Policies.pdf Shelf Number: 123776 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionEducationRacial DisparitiesRestorative JusticeSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsStudent ExpulsionZero Tolerance |
Author: Great Britain. Office of the Children's Commissioner for England Title: “They Never Give Up On You”: Office of the Children’s Commissioner School Exclusions Inquiry Summary: This report is the result of the first formal Inquiry by a Children’s Commissioner for England using powers in the Children Act 2004. It follows eight months of work by a small team of staff from my office, supported by an expert panel. We travelled throughout England and listened to hours of formal evidence as well as taking account of written evidence submitted by adults and children alike. Why this subject, and why now? Firstly, in 2010 we asked researchers to gather the views of a representative sample of 2,000 children and young people on what makes school a triumph, a challenge or a disaster. Eight out of 10 said they had experienced disrupted learning caused by the bad behaviour of a minority. Yet nine out of 10 insisted schools should never exclude a child, but should help them deal with their problems. Even more surprising, only one in seven said that their school always got exclusion decisions right. We were struck by their opinions held in spite of having their learning disrupted by peers who were potential candidates for exclusion. They seemed worthy of further investigation. Our second reason is that, while exclusion is a sanction used in England, it is not used in much of mainland Europe. This report recognises that exclusion may be a necessary last resort in rare cases, but argues that all exclusions must: • be fair and transparent; • listen to the views of the child concerned; • lead to high quality alternative provision for the child excluded; and • be within the law. Exclusion usually happens because of a child’s behaviour. Schools, Academics and Ministers have recognised such behaviour often originates in troubled home lives which spill over into school. We were keen to know how schools exclude, why, using what systems of escalating sanctions, in whose interests, listening to whose evidence, with what consistency of approach and with what results. Thirdly, despite our claims of being an equal society that treats children on their merits, some groups of children are far more likely to be excluded from school than others. These are children who are vulnerable because of who they are, and because of the challenges already present in their lives. They are: • boys rather than girls; • children with some types of special needs; • children from some specific ethnic backgrounds, and • the children of the poor. One stark figure should make us all want to confront this scandal. In 2009-10, if you were a Black African-Caribbean boy with special needs and eligible for free school meals you were 168 times more likely to be permanently excluded from a state-funded school than a White girl without special needs from a middle class family. This figure comes from official government statistics. Exclusions have fallen overall in the last few years, but these stark gaps remain. It is high time, on the basis of equality, natural justice and the inalienable right of every child to an education that we act to close those gaps. This report celebrates good practice. Its title comes from something a teenager – to quote him, “a bit of a handful” – said to us during our fieldwork. We found schools of all types in a wide range of circumstances all over the country working together and with other agencies. They could prove they had saved the educational and life chances of their communities’ children and young people. Their young citizens knew they were lucky. The adults they worked with were passionate advocates of schools as places of safety and ambition, calm and standards. We have included as many of their stories in this report as space allows. Details: London: Children's Commissioner, 2012. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2012 at: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_561 Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_561 Shelf Number: 124896 Keywords: EducationSchool Crime and DisorderSchool Discipline (U.K.)School Suspensions |
Author: Skiba, Russell J. Title: Parsing Disciplinary Disproportionality: Contributions of Behavior, Student, and School Characteristics to Suspension and Expulsion Summary: It has been widely documented that the characteristics of behavior, students, and schools all make a contribution to school discipline outcomes. The purpose of this study is to report on a multilevel examination of variables at these three levels to identify the relative contributions of type of behavior, student demographic variables, and school characteristics to rates of and racial disparities in out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Results indicated that variables at all three levels made a contribution to the odds of being suspended or expelled. Type of behavior and previous incidents at the behavioral level; race, gender and to a certain extent SES at the individual level; and school enrollment, percent Black enrollment, and principal perspectives on discipline at the school level all made a contribution to the probability of out-of-school suspension or expulsion. For racial disparities in discipline, however, school level variables, including principal perspective on discipline, appear to be stronger predictors of disproportionality in suspension and expulsion than either behavioral or individual characteristics. Details: Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 2012. 32p. Source: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, April 16, 2012: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2012 at http://www.indiana.edu/~equity/docs/SkibaAERAParsingDisciplinaryDisproportionality.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~equity/docs/SkibaAERAParsingDisciplinaryDisproportionality.pdf Shelf Number: 125053 Keywords: Demographic TrendsSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsStudent Expulsion |
Author: Miller, Johanna Title: Education Interrupted: The Growing Use of Suspensions in New York City's Public Schools Summary: The New York State Constitution guarantees a free public education to all children in New York. In addition, both international human rights bodies and U.S. courts have recognized that a free education is the cornerstone of success and social development for young people. In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court unequivocally stated, “In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.” Unfortunately, growing reliance on exclusionary punishments such as suspensions effectively denies many children their right to an education. This is true nationwide, and also in New York City, where zero tolerance discipline is the norm. The New York Civil Liberties Union analyzed 10 years of discipline data from New York City schools, and found that: •The total number of suspensions in New York City grew at an alarming rate over the last decade: One out of every 14 students was suspended in 2008-2009; in 1999-2000 it was one in 25. In 2008-2009, this added up to more than 73,000 suspensions. •Students with disabilities are four times more likely to be suspended than students without disabilities. •Black students, who comprise 33 percent of the student body, served 53 percent of suspensions over the past 10 years. Black students with disabilities represent more than 50 percent of suspended students with disabilities. •Black students also served longer suspensions on average and were more likely to be suspended for subjective misconduct, like profanity and insubordination. •Suspensions are becoming longer: More than 20 percent of suspensions lasted more than one week in 2008-2009, compared to 14 percent in 1999-2000. The average length of a long-term suspension is five weeks (25 school days). •Between 2001 and 2010, the number of infractions listed in the schools’ Discipline Code increased by 49 percent. During that same period, the number of zero tolerance infractions, which mandate a suspension regardless of the individual facts of the incident, increased by 200 percent. •Thirty percent of suspensions occur during March and June of each school year. Details: New York: New York Civil Liberties Union, 2011. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2012 at: http://www.nyclu.org/files/publications/Suspension_Report_FINAL_noSpreads.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyclu.org/files/publications/Suspension_Report_FINAL_noSpreads.pdf Shelf Number: 125260 Keywords: School CrimeSchool Discipline (New York City)School SuspensionsZero Tolerance, Schools |
Author: Losen, Daniel J. Title: Suspended Education: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis Summary: Since the early 1970s, out-of-school suspension rates have escalated dramatically. In part, the higher use of out-of-school suspension reflects the growth of policies such as “zero tolerance,” an approach to school discipline that imposes removal from school for a broad array of school code violations - from violent behavior to truancy and dress code violations. There is no question that teachers and principals must use all effective means at their disposal to maintain safety and to provide the most effective learning environments practicable. There is controversy, however, about the means to this end. The advent of harsher approaches has resulted in a deeply divided national debate on school discipline. Supporters of zero tolerance offer a host of reasons why frequent resort to out-of-school suspension is critical for maintaining order and discipline in our schools.1 While the philosophy and practice of zero tolerance has led to increases in the use of suspension and expulsion, recent examinations (e.g., APA, 2008; Skiba & Rausch, 2006) have raised serious questions about both the effectiveness and fairness of such strategies. Some have argued that suspensions remove disorderly students and deter other students from misbehaving, thereby improving the school environment so that well-behaving students can learn without distractions (Ewing, 2000). Yet, despite nearly two decades of implementation of zero tolerance disciplinary policies and their application to mundane and non-violent misbehavior, there is no evidence that frequent reliance on removing misbehaving students improves school safety or student behavior (APA, 2008). Because suspended students miss instructional time, frequent use of out-of-school suspension also reduces students’ opportunity to learn. In order to better understand the issues of efficacy and fairness in the use of out-of-school suspension, we first must answer two questions: How frequently is suspension being used in our schools? Are there significant differences in the frequency of suspension when we look at subgroups of children by race/ethnicity and gender? This report is designed to help answer these questions. Details: Atlanta, GA: Southern Poverty Law Center, 2012. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2012 at: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/school-discipline/suspended-education-urban-middle-schools-in-crisis/Suspended-Education_FINAL-2.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/school-discipline/suspended-education-urban-middle-schools-in-crisis/Suspended-Education_FINAL-2.pdf Shelf Number: 125961 Keywords: School DisciplineSchool SuspensionsZero-Tolerance Policies |
Author: DeLauri, Linda Title: A Seamless Web of Support: Effective Strategies for Redirecting the School-to-Prison Pipeline Summary: Decrying an escalation in harsh, exclusionary school discipline and its ensuing “school to prison pipeline,” educators, civil rights lawyers, civil libertarians, parents and students have successfully moved “zero-tolerance” to the center of educational policy discussions. It is obvious that suspension and expulsion rob students of instructional time, endangering their academic performance in the short term. But research also demonstrates a strong association between suspension/expulsion and dropping out of school. It is well established that dropping out is strongly associated with involvement in the criminal justice system and incarceration. This CHHIRJ brief, “A Seamless Web of Support,” explores promising alternatives to suspension and expulsion and offers concrete recommendations to educators, litigators, advocates and the professionals who work with youth and their families. Details: Cambridge, MA: Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice, Harvard Law School, 2010. 21p. Source: CHHIRJ Brief: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2012 at http://www.charleshamiltonhouston.org/assets/documents/publications/SeamlessWeb.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.charleshamiltonhouston.org/assets/documents/publications/SeamlessWeb.pdf Shelf Number: 126510 Keywords: EducationJuvenile Delinquency PreventionSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline, Alternatives to |
Author: Freeman, Kathryn Title: Breaking Rules, Breaking Budgets: Cost of Exclusionary Discipline in 11 Texas School Districts Summary: This report documents the high price tag attached to public schools' use of out-of-school suspension, expulsion, and alternative schools and spending on school policing--an approach that has failed to reduce the number of student disciplinary referrals. Eleven school districts, educating a quarter of Texas' public school students, are surveyed. The aim is to encourage a dialogue about strategically scaling back spending in these areas and redirecting a portion of the savings to less costly, more effective approaches to student discipline. Details: Austin, TX: Texas Appleseed, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://www.texasappleseed.net/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=848&Itemid= Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.texasappleseed.net/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=848&Itemid= Shelf Number: 126824 Keywords: Cost AnalysisSchool Discipline (Texas)School PolicingSchool Suspensions |
Author: Mosehauer, Katie Title: Reclaiming Students: The Educational and Economic Costs of Exclusionary Discipline in Washington State Summary: In 2010, aware that youth in the state of Washington were not exempt from the pushout occurring in schools across the country due to exclusionary disciplinary practices, advocates began the process of sifting through public records and collecting data on the effects of the state's school discipline policies. Based on data from the 2009-2010 school year, the report takes a statewide look at the use of suspensions and expulsions and their impact on students and communities in the state. Details: Seattle: Washington Appleseed and Team Child, 2012. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 23, 2013 at: http://www.teamchild.org/docs/uploads/Reclaiming_Students_-_a_report_by_WA_Appleseed__TeamChild.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.teamchild.org/docs/uploads/Reclaiming_Students_-_a_report_by_WA_Appleseed__TeamChild.pdf Shelf Number: 127354 Keywords: School Discipline (Washington State)School DropoutsSchool Suspensions |
Author: High Hopes Campaign Title: From Policy to Standard Practice: Restorative Justice in Chicago Public Schools Summary: The High HOPES (Healing Over the Punishment of Expulsions and Suspensions) Campaign is calling on Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to reduce suspensions and expulsions by 40% through the implementation of restorative justice practices, which are recognized and embraced in CPS' own Student Code of Conduct. A reduction of at least 40% would mean that thousands of students would be disciplined more effectively and a true culture shift would begin to take place throughout the city's schools. To do this, we call on CPS to work with youth, parent, and community organizations to implement restorative justice strategies, as well as develop and provide accurate and timely performance measures to track the effectiveness of reaching our goals. Details: Chicago: High Hopes Campaign, 2012. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 23, 2013 at: http://www.dignityinschools.org/sites/default/files/FromPolicyToStandardPractice.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.dignityinschools.org/sites/default/files/FromPolicyToStandardPractice.pdf Shelf Number: 127356 Keywords: Restorative JusticeSchool Crimes (Chicago)School DisciplineSchool SafetySchool Suspensions |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi Title: Handcuffs on Success: The Extreme School Discipline Crisis in Mississippi Public Schools Summary: Mississippi is mired in an extreme school discipline crisis. Across the state, public schools are hindering the success of children and youth by employing harsh and destructive disciplinary practices. These practices not only exclude students from the classroom thereby reducing learning opportunities, but even worse, Mississippi’s children are being trapped in a pipeline to prison, too often for the most trivial misbehaviors. Whether it is a dress code violation, profane language, or a schoolyard scuffle, young people are being herded into juvenile detention centers and into the revolving door of the criminal justice system. Sadly, none of this is shocking. After all, the State’s harsh approach to discipline still allows corporal punishment. In fact, as one of only 19 states left that permit the paddling of students in public schools, Mississippi has the highest percentage of students being beaten by educators. Finally, Mississippi’s track record is being exposed. In October 2012, the United States Department of Justice filed suit against the city of Meridian, the County of Lauderdale, two youth court judges, the State of Mississippi, and two state agencies for operating a school-to-prison pipeline. The complaint alleges that these actors are “engag[ing] in a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct through which they routinely and systematically arrest and incarcerate children, including for minor school rule infractions, without even the most basic procedural safeguards, and in violation of these children’s constitutional rights.” Among other disturbing facts, the complaint alleges that Meridian schools repeatedly respond to infractions such as “disrespect,” “refusal to follow directions,” and “profanity” by referring students to law enforcement. They also routinely suspend students on juvenile probation, resulting in their automatic incarceration, for such low-level behaviors as use of vulgar language, flatulence in class, and dress code infractions like having a shirt untucked. While the suit is the most recent event to sound the alarm, the school-to-prison pipeline is nothing new to Mississippi and it is certainly not unique to Meridian. In fact, it is a problem that has plagued Mississippi schools statewide for years. For well over a decade, heartbreaking stories of extreme discipline and the criminalization of young people have poured out of Mississippi public schools. This report discusses the ways in which these extreme and destructive approaches to school discipline not only have directly harmed students and families, but also have caused teachers, law enforcement officials, and community members to have their lives and careers made more difficult by these ineffective and counter-productive school discipline policies and practices. Furthermore, the entire state of Mississippi has suffered damage to its economic health and well-being. Given this, the State should eliminate its school-to-prison pipeline, and this report provides recommendations for how it should begin to do so. Details: Jackson, MS: ACLU of Mississippi, 2012. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 23, 2013 at: http://b.3cdn.net/advancement/bd691fe41faa4ff809_u9m6bfb3v.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://b.3cdn.net/advancement/bd691fe41faa4ff809_u9m6bfb3v.pdf Shelf Number: 127362 Keywords: School Discipline (Mississippi)School SafetySchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Title: Dismantling the School-to-Prison-Pipeline Summary: Criminal justice policy in the United States has for some time now spurned rehabilitation in favor of long and often permanent terms of incarceration, manifesting an overarching belief that there is no need to address root causes of crime and that many people who have committed crimes can never be anything but “criminals.” These policies have served to isolate and remove a massive number of people, a disproportionately large percentage of whom are people of color, from their communities and from participation in civil society. In the last decade, the punitive and overzealous tools and approaches of the modern criminal justice system have seeped into our schools, serving to remove children from mainstream educational environments and funnel them onto a one-way path toward prison. These various policies, collectively referred to as the School-to-Prison Pipeline, push children out of school and hasten their entry into the juvenile, and eventually the criminal, justice system, where prison is the end of the road. Historical inequities, such as segregated education, concentrated poverty, and racial disparities in law enforcement, all feed the pipeline. The School-to-Prison Pipeline is one of the most urgent challenges in education today. Details: New York: NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2005. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 24, 2013 at: http://www.naacpldf.org/files/publications/Dismantling_the_School_to_Prison_Pipeline.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://www.naacpldf.org/files/publications/Dismantling_the_School_to_Prison_Pipeline.pdf Shelf Number: 127388 Keywords: School DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: New York City School-Justice Partnership Task Force Title: Keeping Kids In School and Out of Court: Report and Recommendations Summary: As the education of our children – our nation’s future – and the school-justice connection has increasingly captured public attention, the sunshine of increased graduation rates has brought into sharp focus the shadow of the so-called school-to-prison pipeline – the thousands of students who are suspended, arrested, put at greater risk for dropping out, court involvement and incarceration. They are the subject of this Report. In school year 2011-2012 (SY2012), the number of suspensions in New York City public schools was 40 percent greater than during SY2006 (69,643 vs. 49,588, respectively), despite a five percent decrease in suspensions since SY2011. In addition, there were 882 school-related arrests (more than four per school day on average) and another 1,666 summonses issued during the SY2012 (more than seven per school day on average), also demonstrating an over-representation of students of color. These numbers might suggest New York City has a growing problem with violence and disruption in school but the opposite is true. Over the last several years, as reported by the Department of Education in November 2012, violence in schools has dropped dramatically, down 37 percent between 2001 and 2012. Indeed, violence Citywide has dropped dramatically. Emerging facts suggest that the surge in suspensions is not a function of serious misbehavior. New York City has the advantage of newly available public data that makes it possible for the first time to see patterns and trends with respect to suspensions by school and to see aggregate data on schoolrelated summonses and arrests. The data shows that the overwhelming majority of school-related suspensions, summonses and arrests are for minor misbehavior, behavior that occurs on a daily basis in most schools. An important finding is that most schools in New York City handle that misbehavior without resorting to suspensions, summonses or arrests much if at all. Instead, it is a small percentage of schools that are struggling, generating the largest number of suspensions, summonses and arrests, impacting the lives of thousands of students. This newly available data echoes findings from other jurisdictions indicating that suspension and school arrest patterns are less a function iv of student misbehavior than a function of the adult response. Given the same behavior, some choose to utilize guidance and positive discipline options such as peer mediation; others utilize more punitive alternatives. Details: Albany, NY: New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, 2013. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2013 at: http://www.advocatesforchildren.org/sites/default/files/library/sjptf_report.pdf?pt=1 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.advocatesforchildren.org/sites/default/files/library/sjptf_report.pdf?pt=1 Shelf Number: 128921 Keywords: School CrimesSchool Discipline (New York, U.S.)School SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: DC Lawyers for Youth Title: District Discipline: The Overuse of Suspension and Expulsion in the District of Columbia Summary: Recent research has demonstrated that being excluded from the classroom for disciplinary reasons causes students to be less likely to advance in school and more likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system. Data from the DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the Public Charter School Board (PCSB), reveal that the District issued over 18,000 suspensions during the 2011-12 school year and suspended over 13% of enrolled students at least once during the school year. This report, "District Discipline: The Overuse of Suspension and Expulsion in the District of Columbia," examines DCPS and PCSB data to determine which students are most affected by the District’s overuse of school exclusion and which schools use these tactics the most. The report also makes recommendations for how the District can take steps to reduce its suspension and expulsion rates. Key findings include of the District Discipline Report include: 1.Across all DCPS and PCSB schools, over 10,000 students (13% of the student population) were suspended at least once during the 2011-12 school year. In total, DCPS and PCSB schools issued 18,720 individual suspensions, demonstrating that many students are suspended repeatedly. 2.The incidence of suspensions appears to be highest for middle school students. In DCPS middle schools, one in three students was suspended during the school year. A number of middle schools suspended over 50% of their student body. A few schools reported over twice as many suspensions as enrolled students. 3.The most common behaviors for which DCPS school staff issued suspensions involved no weapons, no drugs, and no injury to another student. 4.Suspensions disproportionately impacted students in special education and students attending school in wards with higher rates of child poverty. 5.DCPS schools carried out a total of 3 expulsions, while PCSB schools carried out 227. Just 11 charter schools accounted for 75% of the reported expulsions in DC during school year 2011-12. Details: Washington, DC: DC Lawyers for Youth, 2013. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 7, 2013 at: http://www.dcly.org/district_discipline Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.dcly.org/district_discipline Shelf Number: 129568 Keywords: School Discipline (U.S.)School Suspensions |
Author: Cornell, Dewey Title: Prevention v. Punishment: Threat Assessment, School Suspensions, and Racial Disparities Summary: Racial disparities in school discipline today are troubling. Nationally, nearly one third of black male high school and middle school students undergo suspension, while only one in ten white males are suspended. In Virginia, black males are suspended at approximately twice the rate of white males in elementary, middle, and high schools. Black females are suspended at more than twice the rate of white females. There are racial disparities even when controlling for a variety of other factors, such as poverty and delinquency. Because suspension is linked to school dropout and delinquency, reducing disparities in suspension rates could help reduce school dropout and delinquency rates for all students, but especially for black males. This report presents new evidence that the implementation of Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG) in Virginia public schools is associated with marked reductions in both short-term and long-term school suspensions. Furthermore, use of VSTAG is associated with reductions in the racial disparity in long-term suspensions. Schools using VSTAG have substantially lower rates of school suspensions, especially among black males, who tend to have the highest suspension rates. Details: Charlottesville, VA: JustChildren, Legal Aid Justice Center, University of Virginia, 2013. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2014 at: Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.justice4all.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/UVA-and-JustChildren-Report-Prevention-v.-Punishment.pdf Shelf Number: 131755 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsThreat Assessments |
Author: Kang-Brown, Jacob Title: A Generation Later: What We've Learned about Zero Tolerance in Schools Summary: In considering different strategies for promoting productive and safe school environments, it can be difficult to know what works and what doesn't. In particular, longstanding debates about zero tolerance policies leave many people confused about the basic facts. How do these policies that mandate specific and harsh punishments affect individual students and the overall school environment? Have zero tolerance policies helped to create a school-to-prison pipeline as many people argue? And if the costs outweigh the benefits, are there alternatives to zero tolerance that are more effective? This publication aims to answer these questions by drawing on the best empirical research produced to date, and to identify the questions that remain unanswered. Most importantly, this publication strives to be practical. We believe that with a clearer understanding of the facts, policymakers and school administrators can join with teachers and concerned parents to maintain order and safety in ways that enhance education and benefit the public interest. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2013. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief: Accessed January 27, 2014 at: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/zero-tolerance-in-schools-policy-brief.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/zero-tolerance-in-schools-policy-brief.pdf Shelf Number: 131807 Keywords: School CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsZero Tolerance Policies |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Florida Title: Still Haven't Shut Off the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Evaluating the Impact of Florida's New Zero-Tolerance Law Summary: In the spring of 2009, the Florida legislature amended its harsh zero-tolerance school discipline law with the passage of SB 1540. The law enacted some significant changes, such as encouraging schools to handle petty disciplinary infractions and misdemeanor offenses in school instead of relying on the juvenile justice system and exclusionary discipline. It seemed like after nearly a decade's worth of embarrassing news reports and multiple studies about the devastating effects of harsh school disciplinary practices in Florida schools, Florida was finally moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, our analysis demonstrates that meaningful reform has still not reached most of the schools - and students - across the state. While there has been some encouraging progress, the implementation of Florida's new zero-tolerance law has fallen substantially short of what is needed to adequately address the over-criminalization of Florida's youth and the over-reliance on exclusionary discipline by Florida's schools. For example: - Nearly half of all Florida school districts had more or the same number of referrals to the Department of Juvenile Justice following the passage of SB 1540 than they had the year before. - 67% of student referrals to the juvenile justice system were for misdemeanor offenses, meaning there were over 12,000 referrals just for these lower-level offenses. - Racial disparities in referrals to the juvenile justice system actually got worse after the passage of SB 1540. - Most school districts' policies still allow for extremely severe punishments - such as arrest, referral to law enforcement, and expulsion - for relatively minor infractions. Because Florida's students continue to have their educational opportunities - and thus, their life chances - limited by the over-use of harsh and unfair school discipline, there is an urgent need for action, at both the state and local levels. Fortunately, schools and districts across the country have already shown the way forward, and have pursued highly-effective strategies that can serve as a model for Florida. Still Haven't Shut Off the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Evaluating the Impact of Florida's New Zero-Tolerance Law presents a series of recommendations that, if implemented, can reduce Florida's dropout rate, build safer and more effective schools, limit the number of youth entering the juvenile and criminal justice systems, use the State's law enforcement agencies more efficiently, save taxpayer dollars, and build healthier communities throughout Florida. Details: Miami, FL: ACLU of Florida, 2012. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2014 at: http://aclufl.org/resources/still-havent-shut-off-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-evaluating-the-impact-of-floridas-new-zero-tolerance-law/ Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://aclufl.org/resources/still-havent-shut-off-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-evaluating-the-impact-of-floridas-new-zero-tolerance-law/ Shelf Number: 132102 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsZero Tolerance |
Author: Ayoub, Lama Hassoun Title: School Safety in New York City: Policy, Practice, and Programs from 2002 to 2013 Summary: This brief describes changes in school safety policy, practice, and programs in New York City during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration (January 1, 2002 - December 31, 2013). Over this time, the city has seen a large decline in school crime (a 46 percent drop), and, in recent years, has started to see a decline in school suspensions. These trends have taken place amidst the backdrop of a growing partnership between the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Department of Education (DOE). These agencies have launched an array of initiatives designed to improve school safety, particularly in schools with high concentrations of reported crime. Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2013. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 11, 2014 at: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/School%20Safety%20Policy%20Brief.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/School%20Safety%20Policy%20Brief.pdf Shelf Number: 132984 Keywords: School Crime (New York City)School SecuritySchool Suspensions |
Author: Harris, Celia Title: Restorative Justice and Health in Merced Schools Summary: Human Impact Partners partnered with Building Healthy Communities (BHC) - Merced, Merced Organizing Project, and The California Endowment on a Health Impact Assessment of restorative justice school discipline policies in Merced, CA. The HIA predicts the impacts of restorative justice on educational and fiscal impacts, suspension and school pushout, school climate, and mental health, and makes recommendations for continued and expanded use of restorative justice in these schools and others in the county. HIA findings suggest that a restorative justice discipline approach supports health by reducing suspensions and drop-out; increasing educational attainment and lifetime earning potential; reducing violence, bullying and arrests; improving school climate and relationship-building; and increasing self-esteem. Details: Oakland, CA: Human Impact Partners, 2014. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed October 2, 2014 at: http://www.humanimpact.org/news/just-released-hia-on-restorative-justice-school-discipline-policies-in-merced-2/ Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.humanimpact.org/news/just-released-hia-on-restorative-justice-school-discipline-policies-in-merced-2/ Shelf Number: 133538 Keywords: Restorative JusticeSchool CrimeSchool Discipline (California)School Suspensions |
Author: New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty Title: Suspend, Expel and Exclude: How Zero-Tolerance Discipline Policies How Zero-Tolerance Discipline Policies Summary: This report provides an analysis of state and school district policies governing student discipline, as well as state and district level data on the number of suspensions and expulsions reported in the 2008-2009 school year. This report also provides information on action taken by the New Mexico state legislature during its 2011 session on student discipline issues, and actions taken by the state department of Public Education (PED) in 2011 to make student suspension and expulsion data more accessible to the public. Details: Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, 2012. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2014 at: http://nmpovertylaw.org/WP-nmclp/wordpress/WP-nmclp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/REPORT-STP-REPORT-FINAL-DRAFT-2012-02-13.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://nmpovertylaw.org/WP-nmclp/wordpress/WP-nmclp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/REPORT-STP-REPORT-FINAL-DRAFT-2012-02-13.pdf Shelf Number: 134136 Keywords: School Discipline (New Mexico) School SuspensionsZero Tolerance |
Author: Diaz, Jay Title: Kicked Out! Unfair and Unequal Student Discipline in Vermont's Public Schools Summary: Over the course of the last decade, Vermont policymakers have shown great concern about the widening achievement gap between low-income students and their upper-income peers. This achievement gap is closely connected to disability, race, and poverty. Because kids with disabilities, of color, and from low-income families do worse in school, they are more likely to grow up to be poor adults. Not only does this outcome violate our sense of justice as Vermonters, it also weakens our faith that education is the great equalizer. If our state is to create and maintain a stable, productive, and vibrant society, we must do something to ensure that all students are able to succeed. To that end, Vermont is making strides to reduce child poverty and ensure educational equality. We fund our schools through a system that promotes equal access to quality public education no matter the town's property values or income levels. We are also moving toward universal pre-K and healthcare, improving access to early childcare for low-income families, and raising the minimum wage. However, we have shied away from coming up with policy solutions to reduce other continuing inequities in our education system. While Vermont's education system ranks high nationally, we continue to see gaps in achievement, skills, aspiration for post-secondary attendance, and direct college attendance. Why? Across the country, educators, policymakers, advocates, parents, and students are finding some of the answers. In a 2014 report, The Council of State Governments found large disparities between the rates of exclusionary discipline for students with disabilities, students of color, and students from low-income families when compared with other students. The report emphasized that "an overreliance on suspensions, expulsions, and arrests has been shown as counterproductive to achieving many of a school's goals and has had tremendously negative consequences for youth." For instance, a Johns Hopkins study showed that students suspended just one time in grade 9 had double the risk of dropping out. Other studies have shown that disciplinary removal increases the likelihood of contact with the juvenile justice system by threefold. Myriad other studies connect drop-out rates to a greater likelihood of incarceration as an adult and higher poverty rates. Furthermore, the issue is seen as having such great importance that the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education jointly released legal guidance on the need to improve school discipline and climate. Thankfully, the Council also found that intentionally correcting these disparities by lowering exclusionary discipline not only improved school climate, safety, and order, but also kept students engaged in learning and increased their chances for life-long success. According to the Discipline Disparities Research Collaborative, numerous studies show that the use of positive behavior interventions and supports, non-punitive response protocols, restorative justice, and associated professional development for school staff have effectively improved school climate and academic achievement for all students. This report seeks to provide Vermont's policymakers, educators, advocates, parents, and students with the information necessary to assess school discipline in Vermont and to identify where we must go from here. Sadly, when it comes to school discipline rates and disparities, Vermont is not faring better than most other states. A comprehensive review of Vermont's school discipline data submitted to the 2011-2012 US Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) shows that we suspend students at a rate similar to most other states. During 2011-2012, 5-10% of Vermont's public school students were suspended, losing at least 8,000 days of school. In addition, Vermont's students with disabilities and students of color were two to three times more likely to be excluded from school through suspension and expulsion. These disparities persisted for restraint, seclusion, and referral to law enforcement. Details: Vermont Legal Aid, 2015. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 28, 2015 at: http://www.vtlegalaid.org/assets/Uploads/Kicked-Out-Unfair-and-Unequal-Student-Discipline-in-Vermonts-Public-Schools.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.vtlegalaid.org/assets/Uploads/Kicked-Out-Unfair-and-Unequal-Student-Discipline-in-Vermonts-Public-Schools.pdf Shelf Number: 134482 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool Crime (Vermont)School DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Crenshaw, Kimberle Williams Title: Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected Summary: It is well-established in the research literature and by educational advocates that there is a link between the use of punitive disciplinary measures and subsequent patterns of criminal supervision and incarceration. Commonly understood as the "school-to-prison pipeline," this framework highlights the ways that punitive school policies lead to low achievement, system involvement, and other negative outcomes. Efforts to reverse the consequences of this pipeline have typically foregrounded boys of color, especially Black boys, who are suspended or expelled more than any other group. Against the backdrop of the surveillance, punishment, and criminalization of youth of color in the United States, Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected seeks to increase awareness of the gendered consequences of disciplinary and push-out policies for girls of color, and, in particular, Black girls.11 The report developed out of a critical dialogue about the various ways that women and girls of color are channeled onto pathways that lead to underachievement and criminalization. At the 2012 UCLA School of Law Symposium, "Overpoliced and Underprotected: Women, Race, and Criminalization,"12 formerly incarcerated women, researchers, lawyers, and advocates came together to address the alarming patterns of surveillance, criminal supervision, and incarceration among women and girls of color. The symposium was an effort to investigate the specific contours of race and gender in relationship to zero-tolerance policies, social marginalization, and criminalization. Details: New York: African American Policy Forum, Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies: 2015. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2015 at: http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/sites/default/files/uploads/BlackGirlsMatter_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/sites/default/files/uploads/BlackGirlsMatter_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 134747 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactMinority Youth (U.S.)Racial DisparitiesSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsZero Tolerance Policies |
Author: Losen, Daniel J. Title: Are We Closing the School Discipline Gap? Summary: Nearly 3.5 million public school students were suspended out of school at least once in 2011-12.12. That is more than one student suspended for every public school teacher in America. This means that more students were suspended in grades K-12 than were enrolled as high school seniors. To put this in perspective, the number of students suspended in just one school year could fill all of the stadium seats for nearly all the Super Bowls ever played-(the first 45). Moreover, recent estimates are that one in three students will be suspended at some point between kindergarten and 12th grade (Shollenberger, 2015). If we ignore the discipline gap, we will be unable to close the achievement gap. Of the 3.5 million students who were suspended in 2011-12, 1.55 million were suspended at least twice. Given that the average suspension is conservatively put at 3.5 days, we estimate that U.S. public school children lost nearly 18 million days of instruction in just one school year because of exclusionary discipline. Loss of classroom instruction time damages student performance. For example, one recent study (Attendance Works, 2014) found that missing three days of school in the month before taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress translated into fourth graders scoring a full grade level lower in reading on this test. New research shows that higher suspension rates are closely correlated with higher dropout and delinquency rates, and that they have tremendous economic costs for the suspended students (Marchbanks, 2015), as well as for society as a whole (Losen, 2015). Therefore, the large racial/ethnic disparities in suspensions that we document in this report likely will have an adverse and disparate impact on the academic achievement and life outcomes of millions of historically disadvantaged children. This supports our assertion that we will close the racial achievement gap only when we also address the school discipline gap. Suspension rates typically are three to five times higher at the secondary level than at the elementary level, as illustrated in figure 1. Furthermore, the actual size of the racial gap, such as that between Blacks and Whites, is much greater at the secondary level. The national summary of suspension rate trends for grades K-12 indicates that these rates increased sharply from the early 1970s to the early 2000s, and then more gradually, until they leveled off in the most recent three-year period. We conclude that in this recent period, no real progress was made in reducing suspension rates for grades K-12. After many years of widening, the gap in suspension rates between Blacks and Whites and between Latinos and Whites narrowed slightly in the most recent time period-that is, the 2009-10 and 2011- 12 school years. The gap narrowed, however, only because of the increase in the White suspension rate. Specifically, 16% of Blacks and 7% of Latinos were suspended in both years, while rates for Whites rose from 4% to 5%. We next broke down the national trend analysis to the elementary and secondary levels. We only had the necessary data for the three years shown in figure 3. Despite the persistence of deeply disturbing disparities, the good news is that we estimate a slight reduction nationally in suspension rates for Blacks, Latinos, and Whites at the secondary level, along with a small narrowing of the racial discipline gap. Details: Los Angeles: Center for Civil Rights Remedies, 2015. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2015 at: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/federal-reports/are-we-closing-the-school-discipline-gap/AreWeClosingTheSchoolDisciplineGap_FINAL221.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/federal-reports/are-we-closing-the-school-discipline-gap/AreWeClosingTheSchoolDisciplineGap_FINAL221.pdf Shelf Number: 134942 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsStudent Discipline |
Author: Smith, Edward J. Title: Disproportionate impact of K-12 school suspension and expulsion on Black students in southern states. Summary: Nationally, 1.2 million Black students were suspended from K-12 public schools in a single academic year - 55% of those suspensions occurred in 13 Southern states. Districts in the South also were responsible for 50% of Black student expulsions from public schools in the United States. This report aims to make transparent the rates at which school discipline practices and policies impact Black students in every K-12 public school district in 13 Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Despite comprising only 20.9% of students in the 3,022 districts analyzed, Blacks were suspended and expelled at disproportionately high rates. The authors use data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to present school discipline trends related to Black students district-by-district within each state. Districts in which school discipline policies and practices most disproportionately impact Black students are also highlighted. The report concludes with resources and recommendations for parents and families, educators and school leaders, policymakers, journalists, community stakeholders (NAACP chapters, religious congregations, activists, etc.), and others concerned about the school-to-prison pipeline and the educational mistreatment of Black youth in K-12 schools. The authors also offer implications for faculty in schools of education, as well as other sites in which teachers are prepared (e.g., Teach for America) and administrators are certified. Details: Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, 2015. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 11, 2015 at: http://www.gse.upenn.edu/equity/sites/gse.upenn.edu.equity/files/publications/Smith_Harper_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.gse.upenn.edu/equity/sites/gse.upenn.edu.equity/files/publications/Smith_Harper_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 136719 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: University of Utah. S.J. Quinney College of Law Title: From Fingerpaint to Fingerprints: The School-to-Prison Pipeline in Utah Summary: In the first report of its kind in the state, students at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law used recently released U.S. Department of Education data to examine school discipline rates in Utah. Their findings indicate that Utah students are being disciplined in extraordinarily high numbers starting in elementary school. Significant findings in the report include the following: - Children with disabilities in Utah are twice as likely to be disciplined as their non-disabled peers. - Children in elementary schools are being referred to law enforcement, arrested in their schools, and expelled. - Children of color, and American Indian children in particular, are one-and-half to three-and-half times more likely to be disciplined than their white counterparts. - Male children in Utah are disciplined twice as often as female children. - School districts across the country - including some here in Utah - have maintained safe learning environments while reducing the use of school discipline. Students who are suspended even once are more likely to drop out of school, and the Department of Justice reports that nearly 70% of those in prison nationwide dropped out of high school. Details: Salt Lake City: University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, Public Policy Clinic, 2014. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2015 at: https://app.box.com/s/7cijulegy85dk2557i1figi7fs36777o Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://app.box.com/s/7cijulegy85dk2557i1figi7fs36777o Shelf Number: 136827 Keywords: School DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: Losen, Daniel J. Title: Keeping California's Kids in School: Fewer Students of Color Missing School for Minor Misbehavior Summary: Recently the California Department of Education released new data on school discipline. This report compares this year's data release covering 2012-13 to the data released last year covering 2011-12. We find a reduction in the use of out-of-school suspension for every racial/ethnic group. Specifically, based on the statewide averages for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, progress was made for every racial/ethnic subgroup toward reducing the rate of out-of-school suspensions (OSS) per 100 students enrolled from the prior year. Data source and limitations: The state and district level data used to construct this report and compare years, include data on every district in California collected by the state and available on the state's Department of Education website. We have conducted the additional analysis on racial gaps and trends over time. We provide that information for every district in a sortable spreadsheet that accompanies this report. The state has discouraged comparisons with reported data from earlier years because the definitions, collection methods and other inconsistencies make such comparisons unreliable. The reduction in state averages suggest that some progress has been made toward reducing the reliance on out-of- school suspensions and the racial gap in disciplinary exclusion is narrowing in California. This report only provides a summary of some of the more significant state and district level improvements. Details: Los Angeles: Center for Civil Rights Remedies, 2014. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2016 at: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/summary-reports/keeping-californias-kids-in-school/WithChange.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/summary-reports/keeping-californias-kids-in-school/WithChange.pdf Shelf Number: 138357 Keywords: Racial Disparities School Discipline School Suspensions Student Discipline |
Author: Losen, Daniel J. Title: Opportunities Suspended: The Disparate Impact of Disciplinary Exclusion from School Summary: Does anybody know how many students were suspended from school in their child's district? Should we care? In most schools and districts in the nation, the answer to the first question is that most do not know, even though out-of-school suspension is no longer a measure of last resort in a large number of school districts across the country. As this report will show, many districts are frequently resorting to suspension for violations of even minor school rules. Well over three million children, K-12, are estimated to have lost instructional "seat time" in 2009-2010 because they were suspended from school, often with no guarantee of adult supervision outside the school. That's about the number of children it would take to fill every seat in every major league baseball park and every NFL stadium in America, combined. Besides the obvious loss of time in the classroom, suspensions matter because they are among the leading indicators of whether a child will drop out of school, and because out-of- school suspension increases a child's risk for future incarceration. Given these increased risks, what we don't know about the use of suspensions may be putting our children's futures (and our economy) in jeopardy. Furthermore, the high risk of getting suspended is not borne equally by all students, which raises civil rights issues and questions about fundamental fairness. This report will demonstrate that, while children from every racial group can be found to have a high risk for suspension in some school districts, African American children and children with disabilities are usually at a far greater risk than others. For example, one out of every six enrolled Black students was suspended, compared with one in twenty White students. This national report, based on suspensions of students in K-12 in 2009-2010, represents the first major effort to fill the knowledge gap around school discipline as it stands in thousands of districts in nearly every state. Based on data released in March 2012 by the U.S. Department of Education, we analyze the risk of out-of-school suspension for every racial/ethnic group, as well as for students with and without disabilities. The report begins by providing national- and state-level estimates, but perhaps the most valuable information presented is the detailed analysis of nearly 7,000 school districts from every state. In this national database, using the companion spreadsheets, readers will easily locate the highest suspending school districts for each racial group, and for students with and without disabilities. This report demonstrates that, in most districts, the highest risk for suspension is revealed when the data are disaggregated by race and combined with gender and/or disability status. Details: Los Angeles: Center for Civil Rights Remedies, 2012. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 24, 2016 at: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/federal-reports/upcoming-ccrr-research/losen-gillespie-opportunity-suspended-2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/federal-reports/upcoming-ccrr-research/losen-gillespie-opportunity-suspended-2012.pdf Shelf Number: 138407 Keywords: Racial Disparities School Discipline School Suspensions Student Discipline |
Author: Action for Children North Carolina Title: From Push Out to Lock Up: North Carolina's Accelerated School-to-Prison Pipeline Summary: More than 80 percent of today's fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require post-secondary education or training. In the 21st century global economy, a high school diploma and resultant skills to succeed in college and the workplace are essential. And yet, each year far too many students in North Carolina fail to graduate on time with their peers. Studies have shown a link between juvenile and adult criminal system involvement and dropouts. A student arrested in high school is twice as likely to leave school early or to be pushed out, and a court involved high school student is four times as likely to drop out of school as his or her peers. Although juvenile delinquency has declined across the nation and the state, the percentage of complaints filed against juveniles that originate in North Carolina public schools continues to rise. The funneling of students from schools to jail or prison is a national phenomenon that has come to be called the school-to-prison pipeline. North Carolina's pipeline differs from that in most other states because it deposits 16- and 17-year-old students directly into the adult criminal system, regardless of the severity of their alleged offense. Juveniles who are prosecuted in the adult system are more likely to reoffend, and to commit more serious crimes when they do, than youth who receive age-appropriate treatment and rehabilitation through the juvenile justice system. The stigma of an adult criminal record erects barriers that, in many cases, prevent young people from reintegrating into society, successfully transitioning into the workforce or pursuing advanced education or training. The school-to-prison pipeline leaks talent and potential from North Carolina's future workforce, while limiting the trajectory of many of our students' lives. Investing in dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline is good policy because it ensures that students become productive and contributing members of society. At a time when businesses face an increasingly competitive global marketplace, it is imperative that every student in North Carolina graduates from high school prepared to pursue college and career success. This report presents a statewide overview of the various segments in North Carolina's school-to-prison pipeline that move vulnerable students into the court system: underfunded schools, harsh discipline, increased policing of school hallways and a lack of adequate intervention programs or alternative education placements. The final section of the report proposes four recommendations to begin dismantling the school-to-pipeline: 1.Raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 16 to 18 for youth who commit misdemeanor offenses; 2.Implement evidence based reforms to ensure equitable treatment for all students in North Carolina; 3.Improve data collection and reporting requirements to better inform school administrators, parents and policymakers; and 4.Establish a legislative task force on school discipline policies. Details: Raleigh, NC: Action for Children North Carolina, 2013. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2016 at: http://www.ncchild.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2013_STPP-FINAL.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncchild.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2013_STPP-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 132009 Keywords: EducationJuvenile OffendersSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: Pownall, Samantha Title: A, B, C, D, STPP: How School Discipline Feeds the School-to-Prison Pipeline Summary: Overly punitive school discipline feeds the school-to-prison pipeline and contributes to the failure of New York's public school system to educate the city’s most disadvantaged students. Research consistently demonstrates the importance of keeping students with the greatest academic and economic needs in school. Under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, these are the same students who are at greatest risk of being pushed out through suspensions and arrests. Black students, who are disproportionately arrested in school compared with white students, are the least likely to graduate from high school with a Regents Diploma. Black students and students with special needs are disproportionately suspended from city schools. And black students with special needs have the highest suspension rate of any group. Low-income students are also disproportionately suspended. This report reviews the policies and practices that produced these results and provides recommendations to help end the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) in New York City, and for the first time, links school suspension to NYPD stop-and-frisk patterns in four out of five boroughs. Details: New York: New York Civil Liberties Union, 2013. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2017 at: https://www.nyclu.org/sites/default/files/publications/nyclu_STPP_1021_FINAL.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.nyclu.org/sites/default/files/publications/nyclu_STPP_1021_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 141378 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: Hemphill, Sheryl Title: Positive associations between school and student problem behaviour: Recent Australian findings Summary: School suspension- the temporary removal of a student from school-is one of the most severe responses to student misbehaviour in Australian schools. Evidence suggests school suspension is associated with negative behavioural outcomes in adolescence. Using data from the International Youth Development Study, a large longitudinal study of adolescent development, this research found positive associations between school suspension and adolescent problem behaviour. These associations remained after taking into account other known risk factors for such behaviours. The paper discusses the implications for policy development around the management of student misbehaviour and conduct breaches. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2017. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 531: Accessed June 5, 2017 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi531.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi531.pdf Shelf Number: 145924 Keywords: School CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SafetySchool Suspensions |
Author: Davis, Alicia J. Title: How Has the Baltimore County Public School System Addressed Disproportionate Minority Suspensions? Summary: Disproportionate minority contact refers to the higher proportion of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP], 1999). Researchers have found overrepresentation at every point of contact, from arrest to referral to adjudication (Hamparian & Leiber, 1997; Kakar, 2006). Furthermore, research has shown that the school system is yet another point of contact, where minority students are disproportionately arrested or referred to the juvenile justice system. Nicholas-Crotty, Birchmeier, and Valentine (2009) argue that the disproportionate use of exclusionary discipline by schools has created patterns of disproportionate minority contact, which ultimately are replicated, at least in part, by referrals to juvenile courts. They examined school disciplinary data from 53 Missouri counties and found that schools disproportionately targeting African American students for exclusionary sanctions also experienced higher rates of juvenile court referrals for African American youth. This trend has been defined as the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP), which is a system of educational public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system (N.Y. Civil Liberties Union, n.d.). The STPP is fueled by zero-tolerance school policies. Zero-tolerance policies have been blamed for many of the disparities in school disciplinary actions. These policies, initially intended to deter serious offenses from occurring in schools, now include mostly minor offenses leading to more suspensions and expulsions (Johnson-Davis, 2012; Skiba, 2004). According to Skiba and Knesting (2001), 94 percent of schools now have some form of zero-tolerance policy in effect. In addition, although all races and genders are affected by these strict policies, researchers find that children of color are impacted the most (Advancement Project, 2005). For years, researchers and advocates have attempted to expose the negative consequences of zero-tolerance policies, such as the STPP. Studies across the nation - notably in Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and Oregon public schools - have proven that minority students are overrepresented in the use of out-of-school suspensions (Florida State Conference NAACP, 2006; Johnson-Davis, 2012; Langberg & Brege, 2009; Portland Public Schools, 2002-03). Consequently, students are directly and indirectly being filtered into the juvenile justice system. Studies also have shown that children who have been suspended are more likely to be retained in grade, to drop out, to commit a crime, and/or to end up incarcerated (Johnson-Davis, 2012). Johnson-Davis (2012) conducted a study on Maryland's Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) for the 2008-09 school year and found that out of 103,180 students, 20,178 (19.5 percent) were suspended out of school. Of this number, 13 percent were in elementary school, 28 percent were in middle school, and 55 percent were in high school. At all school levels, suspensions were given most for disrespect/insubordination/disruption offenses. For these minor infractions, the percentage of suspensions given in elementary school, middle school, and high school were 24 percent, 44 percent, and 41 percent, respectively. The main focus of the BCPS study was to determine if a relationship existed between African American students and disproportionate school discipline practices in the system. The study explored the relationship between African American students and suspensions (in and out of school), and attempted to determine if that relationship varied based on students' academic performance. Results of a correlation and chi-square analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between African American students and suspension rates in BCPS (Johnson-Davis, 2012). The data revealed the strongest relationship in elementary schools. Specifically, a significant relationship was observed between the percentage of African American students and both in-school (0.328) and out-of-school (0.634) suspensions. Also, in high schools, a significant relationship was revealed between the percentage of African American students and in-school (0.465) suspensions. Additionally, a logistic regression analysis was used to determine if the percentage of African American students significantly predicted school suspensions when controlling for the effects of gender and student performance on standardized math tests (Johnson-Davis, 2012). Again, in elementary schools, the percentage of African American students was significantly and positively related to out-of-school suspensions even after controlling for gender and student performance on standardized math tests. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that performance on the standardized math test was significantly and negatively related to out-of-school suspensions in elementary schools, suggesting that African American youth who scored high on the standardized math test were less likely to receive an out-of-school suspension than African American youth who performed poorly (Johnson-Davis, 2012). Details: Baltimore: Schaefer Center for Public Policy University of Baltimore - College of Public Affairs, 2015. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2017 at: https://www.ubalt.edu/cpa/schaefer-center/minority_-suspensions_report_revised.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.ubalt.edu/cpa/schaefer-center/minority_-suspensions_report_revised.pdf Shelf Number: 147542 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactRacial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison PipelineZero Tolerance Policy |
Author: Council of State Governments Justice Center Title: Realizing the Full Vision of School Discipline Reform: A Framework for Statewide Change Summary: In 2017, The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center convened policymakers and education leaders from five states - California, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, and Tennessee - that have seen success in reducing suspensions and expulsions to identify the strategies they used to achieve these successes, and to determine how similar approaches could be adopted in other states seeking to achieve comprehensive school discipline reform. The five states convened by the CSG Justice Center and highlighted in this report represent a diverse cross-section of regions of the country, varying student population sizes and compositions, and unique education system structures, and are at different stages of reform. As such, the strategies they used to facilitate these reforms are instructive both for states looking to advance further reforms and for states that have just started their reform efforts. This report first describes the framework that all five featured states used to advance their statewide school discipline reform efforts, and provides corresponding examples of state-specific strategies that have been successful in limiting the use of out-of-school suspension. The second section of the report provides recommendations to help all states apply this framework further in order to realize the full vision of school discipline reform. Details: New York: The Justice Center, 2017. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2017 at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/JC_Realizing-the-Full-Vision-of-School-Discipline-Reform_A-Framework-for-Statewide-Change.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/JC_Realizing-the-Full-Vision-of-School-Discipline-Reform_A-Framework-for-Statewide-Change.pdf Shelf Number: 147614 Keywords: School DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: Loveless, Tom Title: The 2017 Brown Center Report on American Education: How Well are American Students Learning? With sections on the latest international test scores, foreign exchange students, and school suspensions Summary: This Brown Center Report (BCR) on American Education is the sixth and final edition in the third volume and the 16th issue overall. The series began in 2000. As in the past, the report comprises three studies. Also in keeping with tradition, the first section features recent results from state, national, or international assessments; the second section investigates a thematic topic in education, either by collecting new data or by analyzing existing empirical evidence in a novel way; and the third section looks at one or more education policies. In Part I, this year's focus is on the latest results from two international tests, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Both tests were administered in 2015, and the U.S. participated in both. TIMSS tests fourth and eighth grade students in math and science. PISA tests 15-year-olds in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy. TIMSS began in 1995. From 1995-2015, the U.S. made statistically significant gains on TIMSS fourth grade math, eighth grade math, and eighth grade science assessments. The four-point scale score gain in fourth grade science is not statistically significant. PISA began in 2000. Since PISA's inception, U.S. scores have been flat on all three subjects; however, the 2015 math score of 470 marks a significant decline from 481 in 2012 and 487 in 2009. Part II revisits one of the most popular studies in BCR history, a 2001 survey of foreign exchange students. The same survey was conducted in 2016. The idea is simple, asking kids from abroad who have attended U.S. high schools what they think about U.S. education and their American peers. Comparing the results, 15 years apart, suggests that not much has changed. International students still think U.S. schools are much less challenging than schools in their home countries and that American teens are more focused on success at sports compared to their peers back home. Part III examines race and school discipline. Exclusionary punishments, those that remove students from schools, have come under fire in recent years. California officials have been pushing schools to reduce out-of-school suspensions, especially because of the racial disparities associated with that form of discipline. The policy has succeeded in reducing suspensions in the state - they are down dramatically - but racial disparities persist. Black students continue to be suspended at three to four times their proportion of student enrollment. The study examines three years (2013-2015) of California school-level data (a sample of 7,180 schools) to identify characteristics of schools that are correlated with high- and low- suspension-rates for African-American kids. Schools with large populations, schools exclusively serving middle school grades (e.g., grades six to eight), and schools serving a high proportion of poor or black students are all associated with elevated suspension rates for African-Americans. Disciplinary reformers have promoted restorative programs as alternatives to exclusionary punishment, but the approaches are controversial and the empirical evidence of their impact is limited. The current study cannot draw causal conclusions, but altering the structural characteristics of schools associated with higher suspension rates should be considered in future reform efforts. Details: Washington, DC: Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, 2017. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Volume 3, Number 6: Accessed October 10, 2017 at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-brown-center-report-on-american-education.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-brown-center-report-on-american-education.pdf Shelf Number: 147654 Keywords: Educational ProgramsRacial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Walsh, Vanessa Title: Misbehavior or Misdemeanor? A Report on the Utah's School to Prison Pipeline, Summary: The school to prison pipeline is a national trend where children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This trend is exacerbated by zero tolerance policies and criminalizing behavior that should be handled inside schools instead of resorting to law enforcement action. Students who are suspended, expelled, referred to law enforcement, or have a school related arrest are more likely to not finish high school than their peers. Within this pipeline are major issues that need to be addressed. There are unacceptably high racial disparities. We are suspending too many kids. Despite common belief, Utah is not doing any better than the nation at large. The U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) has provided data on key education and civil rights issues in our nation's public schools since 1968. The following report uses this data to explore these areas and how they apply to Utah specifically. - Recent national data shows that students of color are disproportionately singled out for suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement as well as school-based arrests. - Utah is not immune to these trends. Although the total number of disciplinary actions in Utah is decreasing, disproportionality along racial demographics continue to exist, and in some cases, is getting worse. - In the 2013-2014 school year, almost 9% of black students, 8.5% of American - Indian students, and approximately 5% of Pacific Islander and Hispanic students received a suspension. In comparison, only slightly more than 2% of white students were suspended. - In the 2011-2012 school year, Hispanic students were 1.3 times more likely than white students to be expelled. This increased to 2.3 times more likely in 2013-2014. Asian students were less likely than white students to be expelled in 2011, but they were 3.3 times more likely to be expelled in the 2013-2014. - During the 2013-2014 school year, 1.5% of American Indian students and almost 1.2% of black students were referred to law enforcement. In comparison, less than one half of one percent (0.4%) of white students received this action - American Indian students were 6.2 times more likely than white classmates to be arrested at school in the 2011-2012 school year. That disparity increased to 8.8 times more likely in the 2013-2014 school year. Similarly, Pacific Islanders were 1.7 times more likely in 2011-2012 and 3.3 times more likely in 2013-2014. - American Indian student feel the brunt of school disciplinary actions in every category except in-school suspensions. Overall,10.3% of all American Indian students received some sort of school disciplinary action in the 2013-2014 school year. In comparison, 5.6% of all other students of color received an action, and 2.6% of the white student population received an action. Details: Salt Lake City: University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, Public Policy Clinic, 2017. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 7, 2018 at: http://utahchildren.org/images/pdfs-doc/2017/Misbehavior_or_Misdemeanor_-_Report_on_Utahs_School_to_Prison_Pipeline.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://utahchildren.org/images/pdfs-doc/2017/Misbehavior_or_Misdemeanor_-_Report_on_Utahs_School_to_Prison_Pipeline.pdf Shelf Number: 149016 Keywords: Racial Disparities School Discipline School SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison PipelineZero Tolerance |
Author: Wood, J. Luke Title: Get Out! Black Male Suspensions in California Public Schools Summary: This report is a joint publication of the Black Minds Project (an initiative of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) at San Diego State University (SDSU) and the Black Male Institute at the University of California, Los-Angeles (UCLA). In this report, we present analyses of publicly available statewide data on the suspension of Black males in California's public schools. Some of the key results highlighted in this report include the following: - The statewide suspension rate for Black males is 3.6 times greater than that of the statewide rate for all students. Specifi cally, while 3.6% of all students were suspended in 2016-2017, the suspension rate for Black boys and young men was 12.8%. - Since 2011-2012, the suspension rates of Black males in California has declined from 17.8% to 12.8%. - The highest suspension disparity by grade level occurs in early childhood education (Grades K through 3) where Black boys are 5.6 times more likely to be suspended than the state average. - Black male students who are classified as "foster youth" are suspended at noticeably high rates, at 27.4%. Across all analyses, Black males who were foster youth in seventh and eighth grade represented the subgroup that had the highest percentage of Black male suspensions, at 41.0%. - The highest total suspensions occurred in large urban counties, such as Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and Contra Costa County. In fact, these five counties alone account for 61% of Black male suspensions. - The highest suspension rates for Black males occur in rural counties that have smaller Black male enrollments. In 2016-2017, Glenn County led the state in Black male suspensions at 42.9%. - Other Counties with high suspension rates included Amador County, Colusa County, Del Norte County, and Tehama County. San Joaquin county has especially high suspension patterns. In the past 5 years, they have reported suspension rates at 20% or above. Four counties have reported similarly high suspension patterns across the past 4 of 5 years, they include: Modoc County, Butte County, Merced County, and Yuba County. - A number of districts have large numbers of Black boys and young men who were suspended at least once. Some of these districts included Sacramento City Unified (n = 887), Los Angeles Unified (n = 849), Elk Grove Unified (n = 745), Fresno Unified (n = 729) and Oakland Unified (n = 711). - There are 10 school districts in the state with suspension rates above 30%. Of these, the highest suspension rates are reported at Bayshore Elementary (San Mateo County, at 50%), Oroville Union High (Butte County, at 45.2%), and the California School for the Deaf-Fremont (Alameda County, at 43.8%). - There are 88 school districts in the state of California that have suspension rates for Black males that are below the state average. These schools vary in size, urbanicity, and region. Details: San Diego, CA: Community College Equity Assessment Lab and the UCLA Black Male Institute, 2018. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2018 at: http://blackmaleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/GET-OUT-Black-Male-Suspensions-in-California-Public-Schools_lo.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://blackmaleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/GET-OUT-Black-Male-Suspensions-in-California-Public-Schools_lo.pdf Shelf Number: 149695 Keywords: African AmericansMalesRacial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Citizen Action of New York Title: Restoring Justice in Buffalo Public Schools: Safe and Supportive Quality Education for All Summary: In June 2010, Jawaan Daniels, a freshman at Lafayette High School in Buffalo, New York, was shot and killed at a bus stop near his school, after having been suspended from school for insubordination while roaming the halls. Jawaan's untimely passing brought attention to the zero tolerance, punitive nature of Buffalo Public School's (BPS) discipline policies, which for many years exacerbated the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Buffalo. Under these policies, many students, especially students of color, were suspended and expelled out of school for minor, non-violent infractions. The Buffalo community deserved and demanded better. Outraged by this situation, Citizen Action of Western New York and Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) launched a Solutions, Not Suspensions campaign, and have led the fight to improve BPS ever since. Over the next five years, Citizen Action and AQE, in partnership with Advancement Project, galvanized a community to action through organizing, door knocking, rallies, protests, policy drafting, and community education. In April 2013, these efforts resulted in BPS adopting a new Code of Conduct, one of the most progressive in the country, replacing punitive zero tolerance with positive interventions and responses. And while BPS still has a long way to go, the data shows these policies have helped BPS achieve significant progress in just the last two years. In the 2014-2015 school year, improvements in the discipline rates continue, showing the commitment of BPS and the continued success of the Citizen Action and AQE accountability model. Restoring Justice captures Citizen Action's, AQE's, and Advancement Project's efforts so that our story can serve as an example for others. In this report, we share background regarding the city of Buffalo and its schools, and then provide a brief national overview of the School-to-Prison Pipeline. We follow with a timeline of the Solutions, Not Suspensions campaign, and an overview of the changes that made Buffalo's Code of Conduct one of the best in the country. We end by looking at the data, showing how far we have come, how far we have left to go, and our plan to make the situation even better. We hope our story motivates, inspires, and challenges others who are working to end the School-to-Prison Pipeline, by showing how a local grassroots group can lead the way to change and create a more just democracy for all. Details: Albany: Citizen Action of New York, 2015. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2018 at: http://www.aqeny.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Buffalo-Report-Restoring-Justice-FINAL-WEB.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.aqeny.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Buffalo-Report-Restoring-Justice-FINAL-WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 1498967 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: Anyon, Yolanda Title: Taking Restorative Practices School-wide: Insights from Three Schools in Denver Summary: Through interviews and focus groups with staff members at three Denver schools that have successfully implemented restorative practices (RP), four essential strategies for taking this approach school-wide were identified: strong principal vision and commitment to RP; explicit efforts to generate staff buy-in to this conflict resolution approach; continuous and intensive professional development opportunities; and, the allocation of school funds for a full-time coordinator of RP at the site. Additional approaches that supported school-wide implementation of RP are described in the full report. Principal Vision & Commitment Taking restorative practices school-wide was possible because administrators held the following beliefs: - Exclusionary discipline practices, such as expulsion and suspension, generally fail to change student behavior. - Students' time in class is a key factor in determining their educational success. - Proactively teaching students social, emotional, and conflict resolution skills improves their behavior and promotes their academic achievement. - Standing by the philosophy of restorative practices when faced with resistance to change is worth the effort. Staff Buy-In Widespread buy-in to restorative practices among stakeholders was generated using the following strategies: - Involving teachers, service providers, and community members in development of policies and protocols that guide the delivery of restorative practices and their integration into discipline processes. - Soliciting regular feedback from staff throughout the implementation process. - When hiring new staff, including teachers, assess their support for the restorative practices philosophy. Professional Development Capacity to implement restorative practices throughout the school was supported by: - Initial commitment of substantial professional development time to new discipline policies and protocols, restorative practices, and allied relationship-building approaches. - Availability of "booster sessions" for revisiting discipline processes and restorative practices. - Allocation of additional resources for individualized coaching among staff members who have difficulty aligning their practices with a restorative philosophy. Full-Time RP Coordinator To sustain all the other essential strategies for success, schools had to dedicate funding for a person with the following responsibilities: - Develop positive relationships with students, teachers and families. - Facilitate formal conferences and mediations. - Monitor student agreements to repair harm caused. - Provide coaching and training to other staff members Details: Denver, CO: Denver School-Based Restorative Practices Partnership, 2016. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2018 at: https://www.du.edu/socialwork/media/documents/taking_restorative_practices_school-wide.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.du.edu/socialwork/media/documents/taking_restorative_practices_school-wide.pdf Shelf Number: 149869 Keywords: Restorative JusticeSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Calero, Samantha Title: The Ruderman White Paper On The Problematization and Criminalization of Children and Young Adults with Non-Apparent Disabilities Summary: Unlike people with visible or apparent disabilities, people with non-apparent disabilities often don't receive the accommodations guaranteed to them under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Due to the "invisible" nature of disabilities like autism, Crohn's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, dyslexia, or any number of mental illnesses, some behaviors that are a direct result of these disabilities are often seen in school contexts as laziness, inattention, disrespect or defiance. Instead of receiving legally due accommodations for their disabilities, students with non-apparent disabilities are disproportionately labelled problem students. In combination with zero tolerance policies at schools, these students are suspended at disproportionately high rates and ultimately criminalized. The result of this systemic discrimination is that over half of our incarcerated population has a mental illness and another 19-31% have a non-apparent disability, like cognitive or learning disabilities. Our jail and prison systems are effectively warehouses for people with non-apparent disabilities. This problematization and criminalization starts very young-even in preschool. Focus and Findings We examine in detail the disproportionate impact that the School-to-Prison Pipeline, and the Foster-Care-to-Prison Pipeline have on children and youth with non-apparent disabilities. While the effects of these Pipelines are well-known in regards to other minorities, we have found that people with disabilities are over-represented in all the minority groups traditionally impacted by this type of systemic discrimination. These findings suggest that the intersection between disability, in this case specifically non-apparent disability, is a significant factor in systemic discrimination. We also examined the role of trauma in the development of non-apparent disabilities. Trauma-survivors are more likely to develop mental illness and about 35% of them develop learning disabilities. This means that children who have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are more likely to be caught up in the School-to-Prison Pipeline. And given that children are very often placed in foster care because of abuse or neglect, these findings about trauma also indicate some of the underlying causes in the Foster-Care-to-Prison Pipeline. To better illustrate the impact of this systemic injustice on individuals, we collected personal statements and vignettes from persons impacted by this discrimination. One contributor's words about these systems that work against our youth captured the injustice of it all very incisively: "... you feel like you're being punished when you haven't committed any crime." Conclusion This systemic violation of the rights of people with non-disabilities, not only impacts the individuals funneled into the to-Prison Pipelines, but disrupts and harms communities by having the stress and discrimination and incarceration burdening and separating families. The long-term consequences of incarceration are devastating given the high recidivism rate (almost 50%) and the lack of supports in place to re-integrate people, especially people with non-apparent disabilities, back into the community. Finally, this system of discrimination also hurts the wider community and tax payers given that it costs more than $140,000 a year to incarcerate a young person, and only about $10,000 to educate them. Therefore every one of us is impacted by this injustice in our communities and we must put an end to it. Disrupting the to-Prison Pipelines with more sensible school discipline policies, greater awareness raising, more support for trauma-survivors, more wide-spread testing for non-apparent disabilities, better supports and education of teachers and school resource officers are among the first steps we can and must take now. Details: Boston: Ruderman Family Foundation, 2017. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2018 at: http://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/criminalization-of-children-with-non-apparent-disabilities/ Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/criminalization-of-children-with-non-apparent-disabilities/ Shelf Number: 149863 Keywords: DisabilitiesDisabled PersonsSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison-PipelineZero Tolerance Policies |
Author: Liu, John C. Title: The Suspension Spike: Changing the Discipline Culture in NYC's Middle Schools Summary: Research findings have established that a middle school pattern of even mild behavioral issues, either alone, or in conjunction with several other factors including absenteeism and academic performance in English and Mathematics, is an early warning that a student may be on the path to potentially dropping out of school. The Department of Education's current disciplinary approach, rooted in "zero-tolerance" philosophy, relies heavily on punitive measures, including suspensions, as a response to a wide array of behaviors. In the 2011- 2012 school year, more than 18,000 suspensions were meted out to students in grades 6 through 8 attending standalone middle schools. Yet, lengthy and repeated suspensions for disruptive behavior such as speaking disrespectfully to a teacher or fellow student result in lost learning days, contribute to students' feelings of alienation from school, and perhaps most importantly, do little or nothing to address the root causes of the behavior. Moreover, there are significant racial, ethnic, and other disparities in suspension rates. Maintaining a calm, respectful, and secure school climate is critical to the success of New York City's approximately 210,000 middle school students. Middle school is the last chance to "catch up" on both the academic and social-emotional skills needed to be successful in high school. Accordingly, concerns about improving New York City's middle school grades are well-deserved. Despite the myriad studies and good intentions, however, the middle school years have not received the same sustained focus and resources as educational reforms targeted at younger children. In particular, the interplay between school climate and behavioral issues and its relationship to academic achievement merits greater attention at a time when graduating from high school and pursuing post-secondary educational attainment is more important than ever. Violent, disruptive behavior that compromises the safe and supportive learning environment that all students deserve is not acceptable. The proposals in this report identify a range of positive approaches to promoting a safe and considerate learning environment for middle school students, teachers, and administrators that recognize the social-emotional and behavioral issues of this age group, particularly for students most at risk of eventually dropping out. A pilot program to introduce a whole-school climate change program based on the principles of restorative justice offers new tools for addressing and repairing the harm created by behavioral issues. Increasing the availability of school counselors and social workers would provide critical front-line support for struggling students. To advance these recommendations, system-wide changes should be made to the Department of Education's Discipline Code, the oversight of School Safety Agents, and the collection of data on suspensions and arrests. Details: New York: New York City Comptroller, 2013. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2018 at: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/NYC_MiddleSchools_Report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/NYC_MiddleSchools_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 150080 Keywords: Restorative JusticeSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SafetySchool SuspensionsZero Tolerance Policies |
Author: Laliberte, D. Title: Evaluation of the Alternative Suspension Program Summary: The Alternative Suspension (AS) program, which aims to reduce criminal activity by increasing youth attachment to school, was evaluated. The evaluation sites were in Chilliwack (British Columbia), North/West Edmonton (Alberta), and Moncton (New Brunswick). The target group consisted of students 12 to 17 years old, who were experiencing difficulties in their academic and social life, and had been suspended or at risk of being suspended. A pre-post design with a nonequivalent control group was used. The evaluators collected data and also used school data and data collected by the implementation agency. Youth who were more likely to experience better behavioural outcomes had been referred to AS for substance use (29 times more likely), criminal behaviour (14 times more), or physical or verbal violence (12 times more). At the end of the school year, 75.2% of completers and 56.3% of the control group had at least one positive outcome. Overall 45.0% of AS completers successfully finished all their courses; 44.1% of these youth, and 28.8% of the control group "met or exceeded school academic expectations". Overall, 59.0% of program completers and 38.1% of the control group improved their school behaviour. There was a decrease in disciplinary actions for 61.5% of completers and 39.6% of the control group. Around 3.8% of program completers and 14.3% of the control group had dropped out of school at the end of the school year. The average cost per completer was $1,340 in Moncton, $2,107 in Edmonton, and $1,693 in Chilliwack. Net average costs per positive outcome varied from $8,852 to $10,818, and marginal costs from $5,002 to $7,238. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2017. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report: 2017-R008: Accessed May 18, 2018 at: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2017-r008/2017-r008-en.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2017-r008/2017-r008-en.pdf Shelf Number: 150258 Keywords: Cost-Benefit AnalysisSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Stovall, Yolanda Jordan Title: Students' Participation in an Alternative to Suspension Program at a Midwest High School Summary: Black and Hispanic students in the United States are suspended at a higher rate and lag behind White students academically. This project study examined student achievement and behavior in an alternative to suspension (ATS) program at a Midwest U.S. high school. The purpose of this mixed methods, concurrent embedded strategy study was to determine if participation in the ATS program decreased disciplinary referrals and improved student performance. This study was guided by social control theory, which suggests that when students are disengaged in the school environment, student/teacher and peer relationships are damaged and students turn toward delinquent behavior. The study sample included 22 students who were referred to the program in 2012-2013, 12 of whom attended the ATS program and 10 (the control) who did not. Quantitative data were analyzed through inferential analysis, and qualitative data were analyzed for emerging themes. The quantitative results showed no significant relationships between student participation in the ATS program, the number of referrals received, and academic performance, and no significant difference in referrals by ethnicity. The qualitative analysis showed six themes describing the program's structural aspects: program structure, goals and vision, parental involvement, staff support, student gains in behavioral and social skills, and collaborative elements. A curriculum plan was created to proactively support 9th graders as they enter high school. These results and the curriculum plan promote positive social change by informing school personnel of the benefits of being proactive in addressing student achievement and discipline through support programs and other interventions, increasing the graduation rate and reducing the current school-to-prison pipeline. Details: Minneapolis, MN : Walden University, 2017. 129p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 19, 2018 at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4428&context=dissertations Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4428&context=dissertations Shelf Number: 150273 Keywords: School MisconductSchool SecuritySchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison Pipeline |
Author: Sartain, Lauren Title: Suspending Chicago's Students Differences in Discipline Practices across Schools Summary: School districts across the country, including the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), are implementing policies aimed at reducing suspensions. The district has initiated a number of reforms over the past six years to bring about changes in schools' disciplinary practices with the goal of reducing the use of suspensions, as well as disparities in suspension rates by students' race, gender, and disability status. This report shows that a subset of schools drive high suspension rates, and these schools serve concentrations of extremely disadvantaged students. The first report in this series showed that out-of-school suspension (OSS) and arrest rates have been going down since 2009-10 in Chicago's schools, but that racial and gender disparities remain large. African American students are about three times more likely to be suspended than Latino students, and more than four times more likely to be suspended than white or Asian students. Boys are much more likely to be suspended than girls of the same race/ ethnicity. This report looks more closely at differences in the suspension and arrests rates based on students' background characteristics. It also shows differences in the use of suspensions across schools in Chicago and the degree to which schools' use of suspensions is related to the learning climate of the school and student achievement. Identifying the schools that use exclusionary discipline practices at extremely high rates can help districts target supports and interventions to the schools that need them the most, rather than relying on a district-wide, one-size-fits-all approach. Key Findings Students with the most vulnerable backgrounds are much more likely to be suspended than students without those risk factors. Almost a third of the high school students who were at some point victims of abuse or neglect were suspended in the 2013-14 school year. Over a quarter of the high school students from the poorest neighborhoods and over a quarter of students with the lowest incoming achievement were suspended during the year. The students that come to school the furthest behind also are the most likely to miss instructional time due to a suspension. At the same time, differences in the suspension rates for students with different risk factors, such as poverty and low achievement, do not explain most of the large racial and gender disparities in suspension rates. While African American students are more likely to face these problems, these background factors do not explain most of the differences in suspension rates by race. There are large disparities in suspension rates by race and by gender, even among students who have none of these risk factors. The biggest driver of racial disparities in suspension rates comes from differences in which schools students of different races/ethnicities attend. Racial disparities in suspensions could exist for multiple reasons. There could be differences in suspension rates among students who attend the same school, or students of different races could attend schools with very different suspension rates. We see evidence for both of these in Chicago's schools, although it is school differences in suspension rates that drive most of the racial disparities. Suspension rates are twice as high, on average, at the schools attended by African American students than the schools attended by Latino students, and the average suspension rates at the schools attended by Latino students are more than twice as high as the average suspension rates at the schools that white and Asian students attend. Because residential segregation leads schools in Chicago to be very segregated by race, differences in suspension rates across schools lead to differences in suspension rates by race. Differences in suspension rates among subgroups of students within schools also exist, although they are modest relative to the differences in average suspension rates across schools. The largest difference occurs for African American boys, who are suspended at much higher rates than other students in the same school. At schools that are racially/ethnically diverse, suspension rates of African American boys are 11-12 percentage points higher than their school average. At the same time, Latina, white, and Asian girls are suspended at lower rates than their school classmates, with average suspension rates that are 3-5 percentage points below other students at their schools. Details: Chicago: The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR), 2015. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 21, 2018 at: https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Suspending%20Chicagos%20Students.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Suspending%20Chicagos%20Students.pdf Shelf Number: 150317 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsStudent Misconduct |
Author: Stevens, W. David Title: Discipline Practices in Chicago Schools: Trends in the Use of Suspensions and Arrests Summary: The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have initiated a number of reforms to reduce the use of exclusionary practices that remove students from the classroom, like suspensions. This report, the first in a series on discipline practices in CPS, provides an overview of the use of suspensions and arrests in Chicago schools and the degree to which practices have changed from 2008-09 to 2013-14. Districts and policymakers across the United States are in the midst of a fundamental shift in how they approach school discipline. During the 1980s and 1990s, schools increasingly enacted discipline policies that mandated the use of suspensions, expulsions, and police arrests for student misconduct. In recent years, the general public, policymakers, and school administrators, from the federal level down, have strongly questioned this approach. Critics highlight the growing number of schools with very high suspension rates, as well as inequities in suspension rates by race, gender, family income, special education status, and sexual orientation. They point out that students who are suspended or expelled are more likely to struggle academically and drop out of school. There is evidence that students who attend schools with zero-tolerance approaches to discipline are also likely to experience negative school environments. As a result, national and local policymakers have called on schools to reduce the use of exclusionary disciplinary practices-those that remove students from the classroom (see box Definitions of Key Terms on p.8 for a description of various discipline practices we highlight in this report). Key Findings Out-of-school suspensions have been declining in CPS, but are still given frequently, especially at the (ISS). In-school suspensions are given more frequently to African American students than students of other racial/ethnic groups and the use of in-school suspensions have been increasing over time. ISS rates nearly doubled for African American high schools students between 2008-09 and 2013-14, but remained the same for other student groups. In-school suspensions are rare outside of the high schools; 4 percent of middle grades students received an ISS in the 2013-14 school year. Some schools may be using in-school suspensions in instances where they previously used out-of-school suspensions, or shortening the length of out-of-school suspensions while also giving students a day or two of ISS. In-school suspensions tend to be shorter than out-of-school suspensions and they allow for the possibility that students could receive an intervention or support while serving the suspension. Yet, they still result in a loss of instructional time for students. Suspension rates are strongly related to students' prior test scores, their race, and their gender. African American students are much more likely to be suspended than students of other races/ethnicities. Suspension rates are particularly high for African American boys in high school. About a third of African American boys in high school (33 percent) received an OSS in 2013-14. In comparison, 13 percent of Latino boys in high school and 6 percent of white/Asian high school boys received an OSS in 2013-14. African American girls also have high OSS rates in high school, at 23 percent in 2013-14. This compares to high school OSS rates of 6 percent for Latina girls and 2 percent for white /Asian girls. ISS rates are also much higher for African American students than for Latino or white/Asian students. Suspension rates are also high for students with disabilities and for students who begin the school year with test scores that are below average. OSS rates for students with identified disabilities were 24 percent at the high school level and 16 percent in middle grades in the 2013-14 school year. Among students with low test scores (scores in the bottom quartile in the prior school year), suspension rates are also very high: 27 percent received an OSS at the high school level and 17 percent received an OSS at the middle school level in the 2013-14 year. Thus, students who start the year with the weakest academic skills are more likely than other students to receive a suspension that removes them from classroom instruction. Most suspensions in high schools result from acts of student defiance-where students refuse to comply with adults' demands. At the high school level, about 60 percent of out-of-school suspensions and almost all in-school suspensions result from defiance of school staff, disruptive behaviors, and school rule violations. While administrators we interviewed recognized fights as a primary concern in their schools, 27 percent of out-of-school and 7 percent of in-school suspensions in high school are for physical conflict or threats to safety, meaning most suspensions result from conflicts that involve no physical harm. In the middle grades, conflicts between students and acts of defiance toward teachers account for most out-of-school suspensions, at about equal rates. Arrests for incidents at school are uncommon, though African American high school boys are more likely to be arrested than other students. In the 2011-12 school year (the most recent year for which we have Chicago Police Department data), 1.8 percent of high school students and 1.1 percent of middle grades students were arrested for incidents occurring at school. Arrest rates were twice as high among African American boys as for the district as a whole-3.6 percent of African American high school boys enrolled in CPS were arrested for at-school incidents in the 2011-12 school year, which is about 1-in-28 students. In comparison, 1.6 percent of Latino boys and 2 percent of African American girls and fewer than 1 percent of white/Asian students or Latina girls in high school were arrested for at-school events. Students are arrested more often for incidents that occur outside of school than for incidents at school. Over 4 percent of CPS high school students were arrested in the 2011-12 school year for incidents occurring outside of school. Combining arrests inside of school and outside of school, 6 percent of CPS students were arrested in the 2011-12 school year. Schools tend only to involve police in incidents for which the SCC requires police notification. Incidents for which police notification is optional but not required high school level. In 2013-14, about 1-in-7 high school students (16 percent) received an out-of-school suspension (OSS). This number is down from the highest point in the 2009-10 school year when about 1-in-4 high school students (24 percent) received an OSS. Since 2009-10, OSS rates in high schools have declined each year. At the middle grades level (grades 6-8), OSS rates were unchanged, at around 13-14 percent from 2008-09 to 2012-13, but they dropped in the 2013-14 school year to 10 percent. The average length of suspensions has also been declining over time, with the largest drop occurring in the 2012-13 school year. This drop coincided with changes to the CPS Student Code of Conduct (SCC) which explicitly constrained the use of long suspensions. The decline in high school OSS rates has been accompanied by a doubling of in-school suspension rates among African American high school students. In the 2013-14 school year, 15 percent of high school students received at least one in-school suspension solicit police notification only 22 percent of the time. Even when an infraction is serious enough to require police notification, schools only notify police 43 percent of the time. When they occur, infractions that involve drugs or weapons are most likely to result in a police notification. That is, about one out of every three incidents that involve drugs or weapons at a school result in police involvement. However, drug and weapons infractions represent a small portion of the discipline infractions at schools, so they are not the source of most arrests. Physical altercations, or physical fights among students, are the source of most police involvement at schools. Arrest rates for both in-school and out-of-school incidents have declined over time for CPS students. The declines in arrest rates have been driven by declining arrest rates for African American boys, who have consistently been much more likely to be arrested than other students. Both out-of-school arrests and in-school arrests of CPS students declined after 2009-10, up until 2011-12. At the same time that OSS rates and arrests have declined, students and teachers are reporting that they feel safer at school. At the high school level, student perceptions of safety and teacher perceptions of order have been improving since the 2008-09 school year; this is also the period during which OSS rates declined in high schools. At the middle grades level, there have been only marginal improvements in students' feelings of safety at school. However, there was a more marked improvement in the 2013-14 school year, which was the first year that OSS rates declined in the middle grades. This research suggests three major areas of focus if the district is to reduce the use of exclusionary disciplinary practices in Chicago schools: 1. High schools. Students are suspended at all grade levels, but very high suspension rates in high schools account for 56 percent of out-of-school suspensions districtwide. If the district is to reduce the use of suspensions and disciplinary disparities substantially, it will require changes in high school practices. Efforts aimed at lower grades will do little to reduce the overall use of exclusionary practices in CPS, unless there are concurrent changes in high schools. 2. Disparities in suspensions for African American students, especially for African American boys, and for students with low incoming achievement. While students of all races are occasionally suspended, suspension rates are much higher for African American students, and especially high for boys. Students with low incoming test scores are also at high risk for being suspended. The fact that high suspension rates persist for certain groups of students, despite policy efforts aimed at reducing the use of exclusionary practices, suggests a need for better support around reducing exclusionary practices in schools and classrooms that serve student groups with a higher likelihood of being suspended. 3. Prevention and de-escalation of conflict, especially between students and teachers. Most suspensions and arrests at school are a result of conflict between students and teachers-such as disobedience and defiance-or conflicts among students, especially in high schools. This suggests a need for increased training for teachers and school staff to prevent and de-escalate conflict, as well as to develop students' social-emotional skills, particularly at schools with high suspension rates. Details: Chicago: The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR). 2015. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 21, 2018 at: https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Discipline%20Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Discipline%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 150318 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool MisconductSchool Suspensions |
Author: Gray, Abigail Title: Discipline in Context: Suspension, Climate, and PBIS in the School District of Philadelphia Summary: The report details a two-year exploratory, mixed-methods research study on the disciplinary practices and climate of schools serving K-8 students in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). Findings reveal that SDP schools are making efforts to reduce suspensions and improve climate, but critical barriers to these efforts include resource limitations and philosophical misalignments between teachers and school leaders. The study identified three profiles among SDP schools serving K-8 students based on information about disciplinary practices and climate, and found that these profiles are predictive of suspension and academic outcomes. Students attending schools with collaborative climates and less punitive approaches to discipline have lower risk of being suspended and better academic outcomes. The report offers a series of recommendations for strengthening the implementation of climate initiatives, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), in challenging urban settings. Details: Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania, 2017. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: CPRE Research Reports: Accessed May 31, 2018 at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1107&context=cpre_researchreports Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1107&context=cpre_researchreports Shelf Number: 150418 Keywords: Behavioral InterventionsSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Anyon, Yolanda Title: Spotlight on Success: Changing the Culture of Discipline in Denver Public Schools Summary: This mixed methods study draws on district discipline data, interviews, and focus groups to identify characteristics of DPS schools who met the district's discipline goals of a 0-3% suspension rate for their student population overall and for Black students in particular during the 2014-2015 school year. Quantitative Findings Statistical analyses comparing schools who met the district's discipline goals to those who did not revealed that low-suspending schools had the following features: - More racially and economically integrated - Fewer serious discipline incidents (type 2-6) reported by school staff - Greater use of Restorative Practices in response to discipline incidents - Less frequent use of in- and out-of-school suspension among disciplined students Qualitative Findings Principals and school staff from a subset of low-suspending schools reported the following common strategies, conditions, and district resources were used to meet the district's discipline goals: Positive Behavior and School Culture Systems - Relationship Building - Behavioral Recognitions and Rewards - Social-Emotional Skill Building - Restorative Practices Inclusive Policies and Protocols for Responding to Misbehavior - Start with Classroom-Based Interventions - Connect Misbehaving Students to Support Services - Use Punitive and Exclusionary Discipline Practices as a Last Resort Supportive Implementation Conditions - Robust School-Based Student and Family Services - Professional Learning, Training and Coaching - Strategic Hiring for Culture Fit Awareness of Racial Inequalities and Bias - Strengthen Staff Members Knowledge about Racial Disparities - Prioritize Relationship Building with Black Families and Students District Supports - Policy & Intervention Consultations with Discipline Coordinators - Professional Development Units on Restorative Practices and Equity Details: Denver: University of Denver (DU) Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) and the Office of Social-Emotional Learning at Denver Public Schools (DPS), 2016. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 21, 2018 at: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3022172/Spotlight-on-Success-Changing-the-Culture-of.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3022172-Spotlight-on-Success-Changing-the-Culture-of.html Shelf Number: 150622 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesRestorative JusticeSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool Suspensions |
Author: Anderson, Kaitlin P. Title: Do School Discipline Policies Treat Students Fairly? A Second Look at School Discipline Rate Disparities Summary: Since the early 1990s, many schools have adopted zero tolerance policies in response to fears of violence. This approach removes students from school for violations ranging from serious offenses like violent behavior to less serious offenses such as dress code violations or truancy (Losen & Skiba, 2010; Skiba, 2014; Skiba & Peterson, 1999;). While it may be necessary, in extreme cases, to remove a student from campus, many fear this movement has gone too far. Zero tolerance policies and exclusionary discipline such as expulsions and suspensions are associated with lower academic achievement (Beck & Muschkin, 2012; Raffaele-Mendez, 2003; Raffaele-Mendez, Knoff, & Ferror, 2002; Skiba & Rausch, 2004), school dropout (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013; American Psychological Association, 2008; Ekstrom, Goertz, Pollack, & Rock, 1986), and involvement in the juvenile justice system (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013; Balfanz, Spiridakis, Neild, & Legters, 2003; Fabelo et al., 2011; Nicholson-Crotty, Birchmeier, & Valentine, 2009). One particularly troubling by-product of the increased use of exclusionary discipline is the growing evidence that such disciplinary practices are employed disproportionately for students from marginalized groups. Numerous researchers have documented differences in suspension rates between White students and students of color (Anyon et al., 2014; Losen, Hodson, Keith, Morrison, & Belway, 2015; Losen & Skiba, 2010; Sartain et al., 2015; Skiba et al., 2014; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002; Skiba et al., 2011; Welch & Payne, 2010). In this study, we contribute to this growing base of evidence by assessing the extent to which Black students in Arkansas, over the past several years, have received more severe consequences than White students - despite being cited for similar infractions. This analysis makes a unique contribution both by controlling for the specific infractions leading to the disciplinary consequences (relatively few studies in the existing literature connect infractions to consequences) and by using days of suspension as the consequence measure rather than simply the likelihood of being suspended. While it is certainly helpful to know if Black students are more likely - all else equal - to receive exclusionary discipline, it is also important that we are aware of any disparities in the severity of the consequences given. In the next section, we set the context for our study by presenting the evidence from the literature on racial disparities in student discipline in two categories of studies. First, we discuss national studies that have generally relied on school-level data and provided only an overview of the consequences levied on students of different races. Because these studies are unable to connect consequences with the associated infraction referral, many questions are left unanswered. We then consider a second set of studies that have investigated the student and school characteristics associated with racial disparities in discipline within particular states or districts. Details: Little Rock: University of Arkansas, Department of Education Reform (EDRE), 2017. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: EDRE Working Paper 2015-11 : Accessed June 21, 2018 at: http://www.uaedreform.org/downloads/2017/04/do-school-discipline-policies-treat-students-fairly-a-second-look-at-school-discipline-rate-disparities.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.uaedreform.org/downloads/2017/04/do-school-discipline-policies-treat-students-fairly-a-second-look-at-school-discipline-rate-disparities.pdf Shelf Number: 150625 Keywords: Racial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsZero Tolerance Policies |
Author: Anderson, Kaitlin P. Title: Disparate Use of Exclusionary Discipline: Evidence on Inequities in School Discipline from a U.S. State Summary: There is much discussion in the United States about exclusionary discipline (suspensions and expulsions) in schools. According to a 2014 report from the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Black students represent 15% of students, but 44% of students suspended more than once, and 36% of expelled students. This analysis uses seven years of individual infraction-level data from public schools in Arkansas. We examine whether disproportionalities exist within schools, or are instead, a function of the type of school attended. We find that marginalized students are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline, even after controlling for the nature and number of disciplinary referrals, but that most of the differences occur across schools rather than within schools. Details: Little Rock: University of Arkansas - Department of Education Reform, 2016. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 22, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2838464 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2838464 Shelf Number: 150635 Keywords: Racial Disparities School Discipline School SuspensionsSocioeconomic Status |
Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Title: Students Not Suspects: The Need to Reform School Policing in Washington State Summary: Introduction In December of 2015, Tucker, a 13-year-old Black student in Washington state, was arrested as a result of an incident that started when he mumbled a curse word to himself. Tucker's teacher ordered him to go sit outside on a bench; when Tucker refused to go outside unprotected in the cold, his teacher called the school police officer. The officer grabbed Tucker, slammed him to the ground, and as Tucker flailed, put his knee of the back of Tucker's head. Tucker was then arrested and booked into juvenile detention. He was charged with the crimes of "disturbing school" and "disrupting a law enforcement officer." Thirty years ago, few schools would routinely use police to respond to such student discipline incidents. Fewer than 100 police officers patrolled public schools in the late 1970s. Today, the lines between the education system and the criminal justice system are increasingly blurred. More than 24 percent of elementary schools and 42 percent of high schools nationwide have school police officers embedded in school campuses. These numbers are even higher for predominantly Black or Latinx schools, 51 percent of which have regularly stationed school police. As the numbers of police officers regularly stationed in schools has risen, so too have arrests in school. In districts around the country, police are regularly assigned or called to schools and have the full power of the criminal law to control students and their behaviors. In Washington, this includes the power to refer children for prosecution for the crime of "disturbing school." In the 2013-2014 school year, the 100 Washington schools with the largest student enrollments reported referring over 3,400 students to law enforcement. Regular police presence increases the likelihood that students will be arrested or prosecuted for misbehavior. Arrest is an inappropriate and ineffective way to address the causes of juvenile misbehavior. In-school use of traditional law enforcement tools (including arrest) helps create a "school to prison pipeline" where students are funneled directly from their schools into the criminal justice system. The school to prison pipeline not only harms students, it harms communities. Students who are arrested are more likely to drop out of school, less likely to graduate and more likely to be further involved in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. School policing in Washington is largely unregulated; no state law or policy directly addresses the use of police in schools. No state agency systematically tracks police placement, program structure, or the impact on students. To investigate school policing in Washington, the ACLU reviewed public records from over 100 school districts, and spoke with parents, juvenile attorneys, police officers, educators, and community leaders. We found: - School policing is widespread. Eighty-four of Washington's 100 largest school districts have police officers assigned to schools on a daily basis. In addition, even schools without police officers assigned to campus may call police to respond to incidents of routine student misconduct. School policing is costly. Schools pay on average $62,000 (and as much as $125,000) per full-time equivalent officer per year. This money that could be more effectively spent on counselors, teachers, and other student support services. Police officers have broad discretion in almost all Washington school districts to arrest students for minor misbehavior. Having police in schools makes it more likely that students will be arrested. Washington's school police programs often lack written guidelines distinguishing between student discipline matters and crimes. This is particularly troubling because Washington law makes it a crime to disturb school, exposing students to criminal prosecution for routine misbehavior. Few of the police officers assigned to schools are required to undergo training on how to work in schools. Only 25 of the school/police contracts surveyed require police officers in schools to participate in any form of specialized training. This fails to account for the fact that schools are educational environments that should not be policed like a normal beat. Few schools collect any data on officer activities, including arrests. Only 14 school/police contracts require any form of data collection on officer activities. This makes it hard for districts to assess the impact of police in school, including the effects on students' constitutional rights and any discriminatory impact on students of color or students with disabilities. School police are rarely accountable to students, parents, and teachers. Only one school district has a clear civilian complaint process to address officer conduct in schools. In over 70 school districts, school officials have no clear role in supervising or evaluating police officers stationed in schools. In 55 districts, school officials have no input in the hiring or selection of an officer to be assigned to schools. The ACLU of Washington believes that police officers should not be a regular part of the school environment. Students, teachers, and school staff deserve safe, quality schools - but this cannot be accomplished by reliance on school policing. On the contrary, school policing as currently practiced in Washington - with few guidelines and scant oversight - may even make schools less safe by alienating students from school and contributing to the school to prison pipeline. Rather than investing in police, schools should prioritize counselors, mental health professionals, social workers, teacher training and evidence-based programs to improve the school climate, schools can help students reduce routine adolescent misbehavior and address the underlying social causes that may be contributing to it. This report documents and evaluates Washington's school policing and recommends policies that schools, law enforcement, and the legislature should adopt to protect students and ensure safe schools. Details: Seattle, Washington: ACLU of Washington, 2017. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2019 at: https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/students-not-suspects-need-reform-school-policing-washington-state Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/students-not-suspects-need-reform-school-policing-washington-state# Shelf Number: 155146 Keywords: Arrests in SchoolLaw EnforcementPolice in SchoolsPolicing in SchoolsSchool DisciplineSchool PolicingSchool SuspensionsSchool to Prison PipelineSchool Violence |