Representative Bureaucracies and Student Discipline in an Urban School District

Abstract

The impact and value of a bureaucracy's workforce that is racially representative of the clients served has been a volatile and debated subject. Looking at one policy output in a large urban school district, the administration of punishment and suspensions, this article examines the impact of racially balanced faculties on the discipline assigned to minority students. The policy importance of school discipline has been underscored by numerous studies and school desegregation programs. School discipline not only influences the political I social attitudes of students, but can influence access to the service of education itself through the selective use of suspensions and expulsions. In addition, despite inconclusive studies and extensive debates, many judicial decisions involving schools frequently identify the need for modified or reformed discipline systems. The evidence from this 50 school study provides inconclusive support for the idea that a representative bureaucracy will improve service equity. However, the presence of increased numbers of black faculty members is shown to influence the discipline given to black students. As a consequence, the conclusions discuss the policy importance of programs designed to make the racial characteristics of school bureaucracies more similar to the racial characteristics of the students in that school.