Black and poor students are suspended from US schools at higher rates than White and nonpoor students¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Black and poor students experience higher suspension rates than White and nonpoor students in US schools. → Nathan Barrett 2021

Evidence¶

Nathan Barrett 2021¶

Nathan Barrett, Andrew McEachin, Jonathan Mills, Jon Valant. (2021). Disparities and discrimination in student discipline by race and family income. Journal of Human Resources, 56(3), 711-748. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/disparities-and-discrimination-in-student-discipline-by-race-and-family-income/

q3 · i? · causal · r?

The article opens by establishing the well-documented discipline disparity: "Black and poor students are suspended from US schools at higher rates than White and nonpoor students," while noting the causes of these disparities had not been established.

"Black and poor students are suspended from US schools at higher rates than White and nonpoor students. While the existence of these disparities has been clear, the causes of the disparities have not."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Identity — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• At racially/ethnically diverse schools, African American boys are suspended at about 13 percentage points higher rates than other students in the same school — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Black students and students with disabilities in Maryland were suspended and expelled at more than twice the rates of other students — related
• A subset of about a quarter of Chicago high schools and 10 percent of middle-grades schools have very high suspension rates, almost all predominantly serving African-American students — related
• Within fight pairs, Black and poor students are punished more harshly than the opponents they fight — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• African American boys received out-of-school suspensions at five times the rate of white/Asian boys in CPS high schools in 2013-14 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Students with low prior test scores and students with disabilities were suspended at substantially higher rates than their peers in CPS — related
• Prior studies of discipline disparities were limited by a selection challenge that prevented identifying discrimination — related
• Black students and students with disabilities are suspended at disproportionately high rates, and high-poverty schools are more likely to have a School Resource Officer — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Denver Public Schools' restorative justice reforms coincided with falling suspension rates and a narrowed Black-White suspension gap — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Intersecting identities compound suspension risk: 0.1% of Asian girls without special education services in elementary schools were suspended versus 27% of Black boys with disabilities in secondary schools — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Students experiencing homelessness change schools at triple the rate of other students and are twice as likely to receive an out-of-school suspension — related
• The authors interpret the same-offense discipline gap as suggesting possible implicit bias against Black students and students with disabilities — related