Punitive School Discipline and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Criminal Justice Involvement

• In Event: New Arenas for Studying Race and Punishment

Abstract

Social scientific evidence of a “school-to-prison pipeline” effect, wherein youth who experience punitive school discipline are likelier to be subsequently subjected to criminal justice system controls, is just emerging. Despite the stark and enduring racial and ethnic disparities in the application of social control in the contexts of both school discipline and criminal justice, no prior research has explored the extent to which these disparities in criminal justice involvement are partially attributable to earlier disciplinary experiences. Using multilevel regression of national longitudinal data, our study is the first to assess whether experiencing the exclusionary school punishments of suspension and expulsion mediates the well-established relationship between race and the criminal justice system consequences of arrest and incarceration. Our multivariate results not only confirm that Black and Latino/a students are more likely to be suspended and expelled and that Black and Latino/a adults are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated, but that harsh school discipline—regardless of misbehavior and delinquency—partially contributes to the racial and ethnic disparities evident in the criminal justice system. Therefore, to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system, destructive school disciplinary policies should be revised and the number of students receiving them reduced.

Authors

• Kelly Welch, Villanova University

• Peter S. Lehmann, Florida State University

• Ted Chiricos, Florida State University