Exclusionary School Discipline and Criminal Offending in Adulthood

• In Event: School’s Out: Mechanisms of the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Abstract

School punishment, such as out-of-school suspension and expulsion, may affect the likelihood of criminal behavior in adulthood. It is possible that students who have experienced exclusionary school discipline will become disconnected from educational and labor market institutions and more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system. I test these possibilities using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=20,774) and find that, independent of differences between students who have ever- and never-experienced school discipline, disciplinary experiences are significantly related to criminal behavior in adulthood. School discipline affects offending by making criminal justice sanctions more likely, rather than by fostering disconnectedness from other institutions. My findings indicate that school disciplinary practices have long-term consequences for student outcomes.

Author

• Angela Carter, University of California, Davis