Education Commons^™

Racial Disproportionality In School Discipline, Melissa Becker

Graduate Teacher Education

Racial disproportionality in discipline has been present, documented and researched for several decades. A growing body of evidence indicates that students of color, most specifically African American males, receive the highest rate and most severe forms of exclusionary discipline (suspension and expulsion). Certain contributing factors found responsible for the increasing rates in disproportionality, such as implicit bias and the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy, have been linked to the Nation’s deeply rooted history of racism. Therefore causing the academic achievement gap between African American and white students to also continue to widen. Evidence further indicates a correlation between exclusionary discipline …