"Unexcused!" School Attendance Practices and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Poverty: Studying the Multifaceted Nature of Poverty in Schools

Abstract

Most schools withhold credit, deny privileges, and suspend students after unexcused absences. Racial disparities in the proportion of absences designated unexcused may contribute to school-to-prison pipeline disparities, yet the magnitude of disparities is unknown. Using newly-released school-level data from 8,275 California schools, we document racial differences in the designation of absences as unexcused. In 2017-18, Black students had their absences designated unexcused 35% more often than White students (median RR = 1.35 (IQR = 1.12 – 1.63), despite missing school at similar rates. We identified two sources for this disparity. First, the Black-White disparity existed in 85% of California schools. Second, Black students were concentrated in low-socioeconomic-status schools, and these designated a greater proportion of all students’ absences unexcused.

Authors

• Clea McNeely, University of Tennessee, Knoville

• Janet Rosenbaum, SUNY - Downstate Medical Center

• Kevin A. Gee, University of California - Davis