School Discipline Trends Among Students Navigating the Foster Care System: Evidence Fom California

• In Event: Policy Influences on School Discipline Disparities

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that students in the foster care system have lower educational outcomes than their peers, including lower student achievement scores, higher rates of absenteeism, and more frequent disciplinary events. However, few studies have explored the dynamics of transitioning into and out of the foster care system on educational outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the California CORE Data Collective, this study included a sample of all K-12 students from 2015-16 to 2018-19 to investigate the differential effects of entering foster care versus exiting foster care on school discipline. We adopt a within-student fixed effect while controlling for key demographic variables as well as incorporating additional fixed effects to predict the likelihood of having various disciplinary outcomes.

Authors

• S. Colby Woods, University of Pennsylvania

• Michael A. Gottfried, University of Pennsylvania

• Kevin A. Gee, University of California - Davis