Alternative Education Program Placements: Racialized Recidivism Disparities and Effects on Dropout and Incarceration Outcomes

• In Event: Discipline, Disparities, and Community Engagement

Abstract

Using state administrative data on five cohorts of Indiana public school students, this study examines racial/ethnic inequalities in the placement and recidivism of students into alternative education programs (AEPs) and the effects of placement and recidivism on drop out and incarceration outcomes. I find that Black and Latinx students are overrepresented in AEP placements and recidivism within the state. Analyses of the effects of placement and recidivism suggest that both are associated with higher likelihood of school drop-out and juvenile incarceration. These findings evidence one of the forms that carceral practices and logics take early on in the educational experiences of minoritized youth; pinpointing these practices is necessary for disrupting the nexus linking schools and prisons.

Author

• Kenya Iman Lee, University of Notre Dame