Investigating the Causal Relationship of Student Suspensions and School Climate

• In Event: Policy, Programmatic, and Practical Alternatives to Exclusionary School Discipline

Abstract

We know very little about the causal effect of the use of exclusionary disciplinary sanctions. Using the timing of the administration of a school climate survey, we investigated the causal effects of receiving a single in-school (ISS) or out-of-school suspension (OSS) on the perceptions of school climate. The analytic sample consisted of over 11,000 students in 69 schools from grades 6 to 12. School fixed effect models showed that regardless of when the infraction was committed, students who received an OSS already displayed higher disengagement compared to the nonsanctioned students suggesting a lack of support for a causal effect. Findings show different effects for both ISS and OSS and challenge the notion that ISS is a better alternative to OSS.

Authors

• Francis Howard Lim Huang, University of Missouri

• Yolanda Anyon, University of Denver