Students of Color, School Discipline Policies, and Disproportionality: A Critical Race Theory Perspective

• In Event: Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Examining School Policies Through the Lens of Underrepresented Student Populations

Abstract

In order to stem the growing level of perceived violence in elementary, middle and high schools, zero-tolerance policies were written into public law. Based on the foundational principles of Behaviorism, zero-tolerance policies have been found to disproportionately, and negatively, impact students of color. On the surface, school discipline statistics presumptuously validate notions of cultural deficits. However, when examined through the lens the lens of Critical Race Theory, school discipline policies and the resulting disproportionalities shed a different kind of light on the situation. By constructing tenets from multiple CRT perspectives (CRT, TribalCrit, LatCrit, and AsianCrit) this article demonstrates the ways racial thinking operates in zero-tolerance policies implemented in schools as behavior management tools.

Author

• Eliot Sykes, University of Utah