Immigration Status, School Suspension, and Offending: A Longitudinal Analysis

• In Event: School Crime, Punishment, and Control

Abstract

Prior research has shown that Black and Hispanic youth are more likely to be suspended in school than White youth. Prior research has largely overlooked the role of immigration status within this process although immigrant youth are the fastest growing school age population. Moreover, given recent research documenting the significant association between school suspensions and increased offending across time, understanding the saliency of immigration status on school discipline bears considerable importance in two related domains. First, it is possible that immigration status will place Black and Hispanic youth at higher odds of receiving a suspension. Second, disparities in school suspension due to immigration status may result in significant disparities in offending for immigrant Black and Hispanic youth, relative to their non-immigrant counterparts. Using four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the goals of this study are twofold. First, we examine the extent to which immigration status conditions the odds of receiving a school suspension for Hispanic and Black youth relative to White youth. Second, using cross-lagged dynamic panel models, we then examine whether the relationship between school suspension and offending across time varies by race/ethnicity and immigration status.

Authors

• Thomas Mowen, Bowling Green State University

• Jorge M. Chavez, Bowling Green State University