The Effects of School Turnaround on Rates of and Racial Disparities in Exclusionary School Discipline

• In Event: Policy Influences on School Discipline Disparities

Abstract

This study utilizes nationally representative data from the School Improvement Grant (SIG) Data and the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) to examine the relationship between school turnaround approaches to educational organizational change and the use of and disproportionate application of exclusionary discipline practices. We explore how these relationships vary for punishment measures disaggregated by race/ethnicity. Using a difference-in-differences research design, we find that suspension rates increased in SIG schools. This relationship was strongest for students in Transformation schools, with some evidence of differences in suspension rates by student race/ethnicity.

Authors

• Tiffany S. Tan, Learning Policy Institute

• Christopher Redding, University of Florida

• Chris Curran, University of Florida