1257 - School Discipline

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Description

Equal access to educational opportunity is a fundamental principle of modern democratic societies. This panel evaluates how school discipline is related to social justice in educational opportunity. Discipline is necessary to establish an environment conducive to meeting educational goals, but discipline that is perceived as unequal and overly punitive can counteract these goals. Recent scholarship has uncovered alarming disparities in school discipline in which the most socially vulnerable students (e.g. students of color, special education, LGBTQ, lower income) tend to receive punishments that are disproportionate in frequency and gravity. Moreover, American public schools have increasingly relied on modes of discipline that are invasive, unyielding, and exclusionary. This ethos has incorporated criminal justice techniques and personnel into schools, and resulted in consequences, such as suspension, that remove students from the learning environment. These forms of discipline can limit access to educational opportunities, and influence life trajectories. At the same time, school personnel are often faced with tough choices over how best to maintain order, safety, and a positive school climate. Panelists will discuss disparities in school punishment, contemporary punitive regimes in education, and the academic and social consequences of school punishment. The panel will also discuss approaches to reimagine issues of safety, justice, and opportunity in relation to school discipline.

Sub Unit

• Special Session

Session Organizer

• Edward W. Morris, University of Kentucky

Presider

• Edward W. Morris, University of Kentucky

Panelists

• Aaron Kupchik, University of Delaware

• Anne Gregory, Rutgers University

• David Michael Ramey, Pennsylvania State University

Discussant

• Simone Ispa-Landa, Northwestern University