The discipline gap in context: The role of school racial and ethnic diversity and within school positionality on out-of-school suspensions

Abstract

Disparities in exclusionary discipline practices are well-documented; however, variation in Black students' disciplinary experiences across different racial and ethnic school compositions remains understudied. Utilizing a state-wide dataset (N = 769,050 students in J = 1296 schools), we examined student- and school-level factors that contribute to suspensions for Black students across schools with varying racial and ethnic diversity. Consistent with prior research, we found that Black students were disproportionately suspended more often, for more days, and more likely for soft offenses. We also found that students in majority Black schools (i.e., those where >50% of the students were Black) had the highest unadjusted rates of suspension. However, when controlling for multiple other student- and school-level characteristics, including overall suspension rates, we found that Black students attending majority White schools had a higher adjusted risk of suspension than in majority Black or heterogenous diverse schools, suggesting higher rates of differential treatment in White majority schools. We discuss the implications of these results and the role school psychologists play in supporting professional development, training, and data-based decision making to reduce disproportionality.