Poster #33 - School Recess Policy and Discriminatory Bullying: Evidence from Rhode Island

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

School recess has historically lacked legal protection, leaving it subject to discretionary restrictions that fall disproportionately on minority and low-income students. In 2016, Rhode Island became an early adopter of legally mandated recess, converting it from a privilege into a right. I exploit this policy change to estimate the causal effect of an enforceable recess law on discriminatory bullying allegations, harassment that targets a student's race, sex, or disability and implicates schools' civil rights obligations, using synthetic control methods applied to nationwide school-level administrative data. Sex-based bullying allegations rose by an estimated 296 percent relative to a very low pre-treatment baseline of 0.084 allegations per 100 students, equivalent to approximately 182 additional allegations statewide by 2018, while race- and disability-based allegations remained unchanged. Consistent with documented disparities in pre-mandate recess access, the effect is concentrated in high-poverty and high-minority schools, where it is roughly five to seven times larger.

Author

• Neiva Joseanna Fortes, Syracuse University
  Presenting Author