The English Learner Label: A Risk Factor for Disproportionate Suspension

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Engaging Mixed and Quant Methods to Illuminate Context of Injustice (Table 10)

Abstract

Literature on exclusionary disciplinary practices, such as suspensions or expulsions, has focused on students of color, particularly Black and Latinx males and students with disabilities. However, few studies have focused on how the English learner label might serve as a risk factor, increasing the likelihood that a student experiences exclusionary discipline. Grounding in labeling theory and using multilevel logistic regression, this study shows how the English learner label is associated with disproportionate levels of suspension compared to former English learner students who have exited the program and are thus no longer labeled. The sample consisted of 6,490 students in grades 6–8 in a school district in California during the 2014–2015 academic year.

Authors

• Andrea Louise Ochoa, Brown University

• Rebecca A. Cruz, Johns Hopkins University