School Strictness and Disproportionate Minority Contact: Investigating Racial and Ethnic Disparities with the School-to-Prison Pipeline

• In Event: Special Issue for Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice “School Violence and Safety” Thematic Panel 2

Abstract

There are racial and ethnic disparities associated with school discipline practices and juvenile justice contact. In addition, research suggests that stricter school discipline practices and disproportionate minority contact for minority youth are relatively more prevalent in urban areas. What remains unknown, however, is the relationship between race and ethnicity, school discipline practices, and juvenile justice referrals across urban, rural, and suburban schools. Therefore, this study draws from the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to address two questions about the relationship between school discipline practices and juvenile justice contact that remain unanswered by the previous literature. First, is the relationship between school discipline practices and juvenile justice referrals similar in urban, rural, and suburban contexts? Second, are there racial and ethnic disparities between school strictness and juvenile justice referrals evident in urban, rural, and suburban contexts? This study seeks to contribute to criminalization of school discipline, disproportionate minority contact, juvenile justice, and education research by investigating if there is relationship between school discipline practices and juvenile justice referrals as well as establishing if there are racial and ethnic disparities in urban, rural, and suburban contexts. Findings indicate that both stringent and lenient school discipline practices have effects on juvenile justice referrals as well as racial and ethnic disparities across distinct school locations; however, there are important and distinctive nuances that are presented and examined.

Authors

• Anthony Peguero, Virginia Tech

• Miner “Trey” P. Marchbanks III, Texas A&M University

• Kay S. Varela, Texas A&M University

• Jamilia Blake, Texas A&M University

• John M. Eason, Texas A&M University