Zero-Tolerance School Discipline Policies and Black Girls: The (Un)Intended Consequences

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

Abstract

For nearly 25 years education researchers have documented the disproportionate application of zero-tolerance school discipline policies against Black children. Research aimed to address this disparity is centered, by and large, on race and the experiences of Black boys. This practice overshadows and further marginalizes Black girls, who experience both race and gender bias in schools. The purpose of this study is three-fold: to review selected research on zero-tolerance school discipline policies; to critically examine quantitative and qualitative data obtained from New York City’s public schools; and, most importantly, to expand our understanding of the ways in which zero-tolerance school discipline policies negatively affect the schooling experiences and life chances of Black girls.

Author

• Terri Nicol Watson, City College of New York - CUNY