Minority Threat and School Suspension: Differential Effects of Static and Dynamic Racial and Ethnic Composition

• In Event: School Policy and Inequality

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that schools with proportionally more Black and Latinx students maintain more punitive disciplinary policies, indicating a possible minority threat effect. Tests of minority threat theory indicate that not only are places with larger minority populations likelier to impose harsh anti-crime policies in order to quash a perceived threat to White dominance but that places with expanding minority populations are also more apt to implement punitive policies due to fears of a growing threat to White supremacy. Accordingly, this study examines whether both static and dynamic threat are associated with an increased risk of suspension from school as well as whether these effects are moderated by students’ race/ethnicity. Using data from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey and the Florida Department of Education, this study assesses the impact of (1) racial/ethnic composition of schools’ students on the use of suspension in Florida public schools as well as (2) the impact of changes in those schools’ racial/ethnic composition over a five-year period. While we expect both static and dynamic student racial/ethnic composition to be associated with suspension generally, we also test (3) whether these effects of static and dynamic threat are more pronounced for Black and Latinx students.

Authors

• Kelly Welch, Villanova University

• Peter Lehmann, Sam Houston State University

• Ryan Charles Meldrum, Florida International University