Towards Ending School Exclusion
Interrogating Successive School Discipline Reforms as Levers for Promoting Racial Equity
STATEWIDE/ NATIONWIDE INFORMATION
Bryk, A. S., Gomez, L. M., Grunow, A., & LeMahieu, P. G. (2015). Learning to improve: How America’s schools can get better at getting better. Harvard Education Press. (Book)
In Learning to Improve, the authors explore how schools can enhance their ability to improve by adopting continuous improvement practices, with a focus on collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and systematic change. They emphasize the importance of creating a culture that supports ongoing learning and improvement at all levels of the education system. The book provides a framework for schools to become more effective and adaptable in response to challenges.
Kelley, B., Jamieson, C. & Perez, Z. Jr. (2021) 50-state comparison: School discipline policies.
This report provides a 50-state comparison of school discipline policies across the U.S., examining how different states approach discipline in schools. It highlights trends such as varying rates of suspension and expulsion, the use of restorative practices, and the implementation of discipline reforms aimed at reducing racial disparities. The study emphasizes the need for uniform and evidence-based approaches to school discipline.
Losen, D., Hodson, C., Keith, M., Morrison, K., & Belway, S. (2015). Are we closing the school discipline gap? The Center for Civil Rights Remedies.
This report investigates whether the racial discipline gap in schools is narrowing, analyzing national data on school discipline practices. It finds that while some progress has been made, significant racial disparities persist in school suspensions and expulsions, particularly affecting Black students. The authors argue that effective solutions require targeted interventions and systemic changes to reduce the disproportionate impact of school discipline on minority students.
Stevens, W. D., Sartain, L., Allensworth, E. M., Levenstein, R., Guiltinan, S., Mader, N., Porter, S.(2015). Discipline practices in Chicago schools: Trends in the use of suspensions and arrests.Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.
This study examines discipline practices in Chicago schools, with a focus on trends in suspensions and arrests. The authors document a significant increase in disciplinary actions such as suspensions, particularly among Black and Latino students, and suggest that these practices are linked to broader issues of racial inequity in education. The research calls for policy changes to reduce the reliance on exclusionary discipline and address its negative consequences.
Zinsser, K. M., & Wanless, S. (2020). Racial disproportionality in the school-to-prison pipeline. In Stevenson, Bottoms, & Burke’s (Eds.) The legacy of race for Children: Psychology, public policy, and law. Oxford University Press.
In this book chapter, the authors discuss racial disproportionality in the school-to-prison pipeline, with a focus on how disciplinary practices contribute to the overrepresentation of minority students in the criminal justice system. The chapter explores the psychological, social, and policy factors that exacerbate this disproportionality, and argues for systemic changes to mitigate its impact. It highlights the need for a more equitable approach to discipline in schools to address the underlying racial disparities.
