An Exploratory Study of Disciplinary Infraction Reporting in Alabama

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-7 - Meta-Analyses of School Climate Toward Intervention and Equity

Abstract

School disciplinary practices impact students’ trajectories, including those which have been described as the ‘school-to-prison pipeline’, which disproportionately affect students of color. The purpose of this study was to explore annual School Incident Reports published by the Alabama State Department of Education for all school systems during the most recent academic year for which data are available. Preliminary findings indicated that school systems were idiosyncratic in their reporting of disciplinary infractions. Further, school systems composed of predominately White students accounted for a majority of referrals to law enforcement, both by raw numbers and as related to enrollment. We discuss how these preliminary findings have implications for disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline.

Authors

• Carey E. Andrzejewski, Auburn University

• Hannah Carson Baggett, Auburn University

• Brittany Larkin, University of Florida