Exclusionary Discipline and Neighborhood Crime

• In Event: School Discipline and the Importance of Context

Abstract

The use of exclusionary discipline in schools has been associated with a host of negative outcomes for students, including grade retention, dropping out, increased delinquency, and future arrest. Previous research has focused on varying effects of exclusions by student demographics and the subsequent collateral consequences at the individual level, but there is little known about how exclusion rates might contribute to neighborhood disorganization. This study uses longitudinal crime and demographic data for small geographic units in seven southern California counties, along with school data from the California Department of Education (CDE) and Common Core for Data (CCD), to assess how middle and high school suspension and expulsion rates impact crime in the surrounding areas. I create spatial buffers to test these processes at an appropriate geographic unit. I also examine how these effects vary by school level and the demographic characteristics of the spatial area.

Author

• Julie Gerlinger, University of California, Irvine