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Teri Battaglieri: (517) 203-2940, tbattaglieri@greatlakescenter.org

Report: Alternatives needed to kicking kids out of school for disciplinary problems

Report also shows racial disparity in how students are disciplined

EAST LANSING, Mich. (Oct. 5, 2011) — Removing students from classrooms for minor disciplinary issues does not improve education for the remaining students, according to a new report released today, which offers discipline alternatives that can be adopted by state and federal policymakers.

The report, Discipline Policies, Successful Schools and Racial Justice, authored by Dan Losen of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, provides a comprehensive review of the research on racial disparities in the way students are disciplined and the effects of practices such as suspension. The conventional wisdom of "kicking out the bad kids so the good kids can learn" does not improve education for the remaining students, according to Losen.

"There is no evidence that such an approach works to improve the education of well-behaved students, let alone the education of the students removed from school," Losen found.

Drawing on a variety of data sources, Losen also found persistent evidence of racial disparities in school discipline, with African American students and students with disabilities often receiving harsher punishment for minor offenses than white students.

For example, a recent federal study of middle-school suspensions showed that 28 percent of black males had been suspended at least once, compared with 10 percent of white males. Eighteen percent of black females were suspended, compared with 4 percent of white females. In addition, according to Losen, black students are more likely than white students to be suspended for first time offenses such as cell phone use, disruptive behavior, disrespect and public displays of affection.

Losen recommends using what's called "Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports," or PBIS, a well-established data-driven approach to improving school learning environments. PBIS includes emphasizing appropriate student behavior and simultaneously working to reduce punitive disciplinary measures.

Losen also recommends increasing training and support for teachers, so they can be better-equipped to manage minor disciplinary issues before such problems become more difficult to correct.

In an accompanying report also released today titled, Good Discipline: Legislation for Education Reform, Losen provides model legislation that federal and state policymakers can enact to help reduce racial disparities, improve education for all students and bring discipline policies more in line with academic research.

Both reports were produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.  In addition, the Ford Foundation provided funding for Discipline Policies, Successful Schools, and Racial Justice.

Both reports are available at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org.

They are also available on the NEPC website at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/discipline-policies.

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