Estimating the Effect of State Zero Tolerance Laws on Exclusionary Discipline, Racial Discipline Gaps, and Student Behavior

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Abstract

Purpose of study
Zero tolerance school discipline policies are generally considered to be those that mandate certain consequences, typically severe consequences, for specified offenses, regardless of circumstances. One of the primary criticisms of zero tolerance discipline is that such policies do not produce equitable outcomes for all students. Recent research has demonstrated significant gaps in disciplinary rates by race. For example, data from the Civil Rights Data Collection finds that the suspension rate for Black students (16%) is over three times as large as that for White students (5%) (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2014). While direct evidence on zero tolerance policies is limited (Skiba et al., 2006), emerging work suggests that they may exacerbate racial discipline gaps (Hoffman, 2014).

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of state mandated zero tolerance discipline on student suspensions as well as on school leaders’ perceptions of problem behaviors. I address the following research questions:

1) What is the relationship between state mandatory expulsion laws and rates of exclusionary discipline (suspensions) and school leaders’ perceptions of problem behaviors?

2) Does this relationship vary by student demographic characteristics such as minority status?

Study design and methods
I compile data from surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) data collection as well as original data drawn from archival searches of state law. For the independent variables, I use indicators of state laws that mandate expulsion. Dependent variables include the proportion of students in a school district suspended per year for the district as a whole and by race. I also examine principal ratings of problem behaviors in school.

The primary methodological approach exploits state level variation in timing and application of zero tolerance laws to identify the relationship between state zero tolerance laws and the outcomes of interest. I utilize a state and year fixed-effects model in which changes in state zero tolerance law within state are utilized to predict the outcomes of interest while holding constant any time-invariant aspects of the state and any year specific effects. I also control for time-variant district or school characteristics such as student body racial composition, percentage of free/reduced lunch eligible students, school size, and urbanicity. For suspension rates, I utilize ordinary least squares regressions and generalized linear model (GLM) regressions suitable for fractional outcomes (Papke & Wooldridge, 1996). For outcomes of principal perceived problem behaviors, I utilize ordered logistic regression.

Findings and policy implications
I find that state zero tolerance laws predict an increased use of exclusionary discipline as measured by proportion of students suspended and few appreciable decreases in school leaders’ perceptions of problem behaviors. Furthermore, state zero tolerance laws appear to differentially affect students of color thereby contributing to racial discipline gaps.

Previous research has shown that experiencing a suspension or expulsion is predictive of negative outcomes for the students involved (Arcia, 2006; Costenbader, & Markson, 1998; Hemphill et al., 2006). The results of this study suggest that the presence of any mandated expulsion law predicts a 0.004 increase in the proportion of students suspended. Furthermore, I find that state mandated zero tolerance laws predict larger increases in the proportion of Black students suspended than White students.
Even if zero tolerance policies increase the use of exclusionary discipline, such an increase may be justified if overall levels of misbehavior and infractions are decreased. I do not, however, find this to be the case. Mandatory expulsion laws exhibit a statistically significant and positive relationship with principals’ perceptions of vandalism, robbery, and weapons offenses and statistically insignificant relationships with each of the other problem behaviors.
Taken as a whole, the results of this study suggest that zero tolerance laws on the part of states are not an effective mechanism for improving schools. The increased exposure to exclusionary discipline suggests that more students are subject to the negative outcomes associated with being suspended, in the view of principals, not reducing overall levels of misbehavior in schools. Furthermore, given a disproportionate impact on students of color, these policies appear to contribute to racial gaps in discipline.

The results of this study suggest that state policymakers would be wise to consider revisions to state mandated expulsion laws and that such revisions should be carefully designed so as not to contribute to racial disparities in the use of exclusionary discipline. Consequently, state policymakers should consider discipline policies that do not rely on exclusionary discipline.

Author

• Chris Curran, University of Maryland - Baltimore County