This fact sheet summarizes key information from the Supporting Students with Disabilities and Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Student Discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guidance document.
Office of Special Education Rehabilitative Services. 2022. Supporting Students with Disabilities and Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Student Discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Fact Sheet: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/504-discipline-factsheet.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term= (accessed September 16, 2022).
The authors explore the critical role that teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices play in fortifying students’ investment in learning. They examine the new findings on “teacher mindsets” and profile schools at the forefront of efforts to shift adult perceptions and practices in ways that strengthen students’ view of themselves as learners and their motivation to learn.
FutureEd, (2019).
The authors examined stakeholders responses to a number of citations on racial disparities. The authors discuss how a number of factors shape disability and discipline racial disparities in the district.The aftermath of disproportionality citations: Situating disability-race intersections in historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts.
Tefera, A. A., Artiles, A. J., Kramarczuk Voulgarides, C., Aylward, A., & Alvarado, S. (2023). The aftermath of disproportionality citations: Situating disability-race intersections in historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts. American Educational Research Journal, 00028312221147007.
The authors present a comprehnsive analytic framework for examining school discipline patterns in New York City Schools. The authors used school level metrics and ascertained that Black students received the most suspensions and received suspensions at a different rate for the same infractions as their peers.
Rodriguez, L. A., & Welsh, R. O. (2022). The Dimensions of School Discipline: Toward a Comprehensive Framework for Measuring Discipline Patterns and Outcomes in Schools. AERA Open, 8(1).
This brief includes an empathic discipline program: an intervention for teachers that is designed to mitigate the consequences of bias on their students’ education outcomes with a focus on exclusionary discipline. Researchers tested whether the empathic discipline program could be implemented through MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) networks in a large and diverse school district and whether it could mitigate yearlong suspension rates.
Okonofua, J. and Semko, S. (2023) Through MTSS, Empathic Discipline Program Can Mitigate Racial Disparities in Suspension Rates. California MTSS Research Consortium, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Accessed September 5, 2023.
School suspension and expulsion are important forms of punishment that disproportionately affect Black students, with long-term consequences for educational attainment and other indicators of wellbeing. Prior research identifies three mechanisms that help account for racial disparities in suspension and expulsion: between-school sorting, differences in student behaviors, and differences in the treatment and support of students with similar behaviors. The authors extend this literature by (1) comparing the contributions of these three mechanisms in a single study, (2) assessing behavior and school composition when children enter kindergarten and before most are exposed to school discipline, and (3) using both teacher and parent reports of student behaviors.
J. Owens, S. S. McLanahan, Unpacking the Drivers of Racial Disparities in School Suspension and Expulsion. Soc. Forces 98, 1548–1577 (2020).
This series of articles on Inequities in schools takes a close look at some schools and districts that are engaging in hard work of embracing the goals of equity and turning them into action steps that are benefiting students. The articles discuss that black, Hispanic or low-income students schools may not have the same advanced courses as white, more affluent peers, teachers with long track records of effective teaching or are more likely to face harsher discipline. Articles: 1. In Pursuit of Equity 2. Data Reveal Deep Inequalities in Schools 3. How Onw District is Raising Math Rigor and Achievement for Students of Color 4. Access to Quality PD Is an Equity Issue, Teachers Say 5. The Simple Policy Change That's Getting More Students of Color in Advanced Courses 6. The Art of Making Science Accessible and Relevant to All Students
Samuel, C.A., Schwartz, S., Blad, E., Gewertz, C. 2020. Uprooting Inequities in Schools. Bethesda, Maryland: Education Week http://e-news.edweek.org/hostedemail/email.htm?CID=41632109141&ch=555AE40C00CA2111F027762D339E115D&h=090c7478f5f0b706ad27de4da5c61b08&ei=7f7OBGlxN&st=04-MAR-20
Bastable, E., Meng, P., Falcon, S. F., & McIntosh, K. (2023). Using an Embedded Mixed Methods Design to Assess and Improve Intervention Acceptability of an Equity-Focused Intervention: A Methodological Demonstration. Behavioral Disorders, 48(3), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742919880486
Experts in the field of education have long voiced concerns about racial and ethnic disparities in the application of school discipline, particularly in regard to the disproportionate number of office discipline referrals (ODRs) that Black students face. According to the American Psychological Association, these behaviors can have long-lasting impacts on students, causing them to have worse mental health and lower grades. A group of researchers are providing fresh insight into the matter by determining how a handful of educators in a single California school district more than doubled the disparity in student disciplinary outcomes between white and Black children.
Tamez-Robledo, N. (2023). When a Tiny Fraction of Teacher File Most School Discipline Referrals. EdSurge. Accessed March 25, 2024.
This document provides suggestions for use of Coordinated Early Intervening Services funds to address issues of equity in school discipline. Suggestions included multi-tiered systems of support, disaggregating data for decision-making, equity-focused professional development, coaching of teachers, and partnering with families.
Austin, Sean, Heidi Von Ravensberg, and Kent McIntosh. 2022. Wise Use of Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) to Achieve Equity in School Discipline. Eugene, OR: Center on PBIS, https://assets-global.website-files.com/5d3725188825e071f1670246/629fbbf38f28899469117353_Wise%20Use%20of%20Coordinated%20Early%20Intervening%20Services%20(CEIS)%20to%20Achieve%20Equity%20in%20School%20Discipline.pdf (accessed January 30, 2023).
