An Examination of Racial Disparities in School Discipline by Various Classroom Instruction Modes

• In Event: School Discipline in the 21st Century: Social Control Through Security and Punishment Approaches

Abstract

School exclusionary punishments (i.e., expulsion, suspension) and law enforcement contact are associated with school failure, a greater likelihood of dropping out, justice system contact, and other detrimental outcomes, especially among racial/ethnic minority students. While these findings are associated with the traditional, in-person approach to education, schooling looked different for students in the 2020-21 school year following additional health and safety measures and different approaches to classroom instruction (e.g., in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning), which were implemented in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study uses data from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) to look at the racial/ethnic differences in school expulsion, suspension, and law enforcement contact from SY 2017-18 to 2020-2021. Preliminary findings show that most schools opted into a hybrid learning approach, where some students were in-person, others were remote, and some were receiving both. Additionally, findings show expulsion, law enforcement contact, and arrest increased for Black students and decreased for White students, while suspension increased for both White and Black students.

Authors

• Tacey Shurtliff, University of Oklahoma

• Julie Gerlinger, University of Oklahoma