Six-part state and local policy strategy for reducing exclusionary discipline and suspension gaps¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 16 claims (10 for, 4 mixed, 2 against) · 10 studies (4 causal, 3 associational, 2 review, 1 qualitative), q2–q3 · 0 of 10 report an effect size · 16 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report recommends that states and districts eliminate zero-tolerance policies and restrict suspensions for minor offenses; support evidence-based alternatives such as "schoolwide restorative practices and teaching social and emotional skills"; collect and publicly report disaggregated discipline data and use it for equity reviews; develop educator preparation standards for positive climates and restorative practices; fund professional learning on implicit bias, empathy, and culturally responsive environments; and invest in support services and staff such as counselors and restorative justice coordinators.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• State and district policy action, funding streams such as ESSA Title IV and Title II set-asides, and accurate disaggregated discipline reporting

Constraints¶

• The report notes that in five states, declines in out-of-school suspension were offset by larger increases in in-school suspensions, so reducing one exclusionary measure does not guarantee reduced exclusion overall

Target Learners¶

• K–12 students, particularly students of color, students with disabilities, and secondary school students disproportionately affected by suspension

Target Learning Goals¶

• Reducing loss of instructional time and inequity in educational opportunity; improving school climate and behavioral supports

Claims¶

• School culture changes during turnaround coincided with suspension rates falling from roughly one in four students suspended per year to zero suspensions [+W]
• Denver Public Schools' restorative justice reforms coincided with falling suspension rates and a narrowed Black-White suspension gap [+W]
• Exclusionary discipline harms students and disproportionately affects students of color, so tracking suspension data can promote positive interventions [+W]
• Black secondary students lost 103 days of instruction per 100 enrolled, 82 more days than their White peers [+W]
• Black and poor students are suspended from US schools at higher rates than White and nonpoor students [+W]
• Secondary students lose instruction due to out-of-school suspensions at more than five times the rate of elementary students (37 vs. 7 days per 100 enrolled) [+W]
• Philadelphia's 2012-2013 discipline reform produced a modest decline in suspensions for nonviolent infractions in the year of reform [+W]
• For the same types of infractions, Black students and students with disabilities were significantly more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than other subgroups [+W]
• 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 [+W]
• In schools that did not fully implement the district-level suspension reform, peer math achievement declined and attendance decreased [~W]
• Truancy rates increased in Philadelphia following the discipline policy reform [-W]
• Out-of-school suspension decreased in 48 states and Washington, DC between 2011–12 and 2017–18, but in five states the decline came with an even larger increase in in-school suspensions [~W]
• The School District of Philadelphia reformed its student code of conduct in 2012-2013 to prohibit suspensions and expulsions for two types of non-violent student conduct [+W]
• Peer outcomes following a district suspension reform varied with school-level implementation [~W]
• Over 60% of the largest school districts reported zero school-related arrests, and no state had fully met ESSA school-policing report-card requirements [~W]
• Total suspensions in Philadelphia remained unchanged following the discipline policy reform [-W]

Related Strategies¶

• Replace exclusionary discipline for low-level offenses with social-emotional skill teaching, educator supports, implicit-bias training, and relationship-centered schools
• Replace zero tolerance discipline policies with explicit social-emotional teaching and restorative discipline practices
• Districts should track rates of lost instruction from suspensions and conduct recurring public reviews of discipline disparities
• Embed a race-equity lens in all local discipline actions and invest in supportive personnel over school police
• Adopt positive, restorative discipline approaches and ban harmful exclusionary practices
• Restorative-justice-aligned discipline policies to reduce exclusionary discipline disparities
• Build safety and belonging by detracking, offering low-barrier extracurriculars, and implementing restorative approaches in place of exclusionary discipline
• Seven state-level policy actions to improve school discipline equity

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Leung-Gagné, M., McCombs, J., Scott, C., & Losen, D. J. (2022). Pushed out: Trends and disparities in out-of-school suspension. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/235.277