Out-of-School Suspension Rates in Maryland: Interactions of Race, Gender, and Disproportionality

• In Event: 47.056 - The Social Context and Structural Inequalities of School Discipline Policies

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between school-level factors (context, academic achievement, and demographic composition) and out-of-school suspensions (OOSS) in Maryland middle and high schools. Our analyses predict overall school-level rates of suspension, and disproportionate rates of suspension within individual schools for four student groups (Black boys, Black girls, Hispanic/Latinx boys, and Hispanic/Latinx girls). Linking data from the Civil Rights Data Collection, and the Maryland State Department of Education for the 2013-2014 academic year, we observe that while some school-level factors are significant predictors for each group examined, none hold across all groups. These findings suggest that attending to the specific nature of a school’s OOSS patterns may be essential to addressing issues of disproportionality.

Authors

• Erin Janulis, University of Maryland - College Park

• Bradley Quarles, University of Maryland College Park