"Suspending Us Is Not Going to Support Us": Girls of Color Reflect on School Discipline

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Examinations of Punitive Leadership, Policies, and Practices and Their Impact on Students of Color

Abstract

Recent work on Black girls and discipline argues that stereotypes about Black femininity leave girls susceptible to increased discipline. Drawing on a set of interviews with a multi-racial group of high-school age girls attending an alternative urban school, this paper explores a “life cycle of suspensions” that reveals commonalities in girls’ disciplinary experiences. It explores the life contexts surrounding incidents that led to disciplinary action, considers girls’ reactions to discipline, and examines how these young women found a path forward in school. Their stories suggest ways to create safer and more supportive school environments that may be implemented as schools seek to be more conscious of both race and gender in their discipline policies and school climate.

Author

• Joanna Taylor, Brandeis University