The Discipline Gap: Issues and Remedies in Racially Disproportionate Discipline

• In Event: 47.066 - Gap in Education

Abstract

Racially disproportionate discipline, comprising suspension, expulsion, and transfer, has been well documented since the report issued by the Children’s Defense Fund (1975) to the present (CDRC, 2014; Evans & Lester, 2014; Koon, 2013; Losen, 2013; Rocque & Paternoster, 2013; Simson, 2014; Skiba, 2015). This paper evaluates the role of racial threat theory and implicit bias consonant with contributing factors of poverty and cultural mismatch in disproportionality (Rocque & Paternoster, 2011; Rudd, 2014; Simson, 2014; Skiba, 2015). The judicial pattern of deferential treatment to systems and constitutional “colorblindness” (Payne & Welch, 2010; Simson, 2014; Skiba, Eckes, & Brown, 2009/2010) suggests three extra-judicial remedies-Positive Behavior Interventions, Social Emotional Learning, and Restorative Justice—provide the best basis for future policy and research.

Author

• Maria D.S. Andrade Johnson, Loyola Marymount University