Bad Boys and School Suspensions: Public Policy Implications for Black Males

Abstract

The focus of this research is the disciplinary policy of school suspension and its effect on black male students. We examined the application of public school suspensions by race and sex in an integrated school district in the southeastern portion of the United States. Data for the study were compiled from oficial records housed in the administrative complex for the entire school district. The suspensions cover one academic year from September of 1983 through June of 1984. During this period of time black males were disproportionately suspended in both the elementary and secondary schools. This finding is consistent with other research noting that black students, and in particular black male students, are disproportionately affected by the various policies of public schools. We then discuss the implications of these findings for black males. Policies which limit educational opportunities for black males increase the probability of their need for welfare services, incarceration in prisons, and commitment to mental hospitals. Our conclusion is that the policy of suspending problem students is not only an effort by elementary and secondary school administrators and faculty to remove bad boys but is also one of several policies which limit educational opportunities for black males.

Unmasking the Inequitable Discipline Experiences of Urban Black Girls: Implications for Urban Educational Stakeholders

“…In comparison to Hispanic and White girls, Black girls are more likely to be suspended from school (Raffaele Mendez et al 2002). Taylor and Foster (1986) found that Black girls received higher suspension rates than White girls in elementary, junior high, and high school, but noted declines in suspension rates from junior high school to high school for all girls. Nearly two decades later, Raffaele Mendez and Knoff (2003) replicated and extended these findings indicating that Black girls received higher suspension rates in comparison to White and Hispanic girls across primary and secondary school.…”

An Interdisciplinary Model of School Absenteeism in Youth to Inform Professional Practice and Public Policy

“…These factors could easily intersect with other child, parent, and school factors such as pursuit of tangible rewards outside of school, meager parental supervision, and poor school climate. At a more global level, severe, system-wide attendance problems and use of suspensions in a school district can help destabilize neighborhoods, fuel gang-related activity, and contribute to malaise among teachers and other school personnel (Eitle and Eitle 2004;Taylor and Foster 1986). Criterion three: fluidity and flexibility A satisfactory model of school absenteeism must also be fluid and flexible enough to account for rapid changes in attendance patterns, symptoms, and exigent influences.…”

Black-White Differences in School Suspension: Effect of Student Beliefs About Teachers

“…The overrepresentation of African American students in suspension and expulsion practices at school has been documented consistently in the literature across time. Virtually every study undertaken of schools and school districts has revealed the same types of disparities (Costenbader and Markson, 1998;Gregory, 1997;McCarthy and Hoge, 1987;Mendez et al, 2002;Morris and Goldring, 1999;Morrison et al, 2001;Nichols et al, 1999;Skiba et al, 1997Skiba et al, , 2000Skiba et al, , 2002Taylor and Foster, 1986;Thornton and Trent, 1988;Wu et al, 1982).…”

“…Most of the research on school punishment has focused on documenting race differences and looking for student and school-level factors to help explain disproportionality in out-of-school suspension (Costenbader and Markson, 1998;Gregory, 1997;Mendez et al, 2002;Morrison et al, 2001;Nichols et al, 1999;Skiba et al, 1997;Taylor and Foster, 1986;Wu et al, 1982). Less work has been done examining teachers and their potential effect on school suspension.…”

“…Many studies have documented disproportionality in African American student suspension rates at school (Costenbader and Markson, 1988;Gordon et al, 2000;Nichols et al, 1999;Taylor and Foster, 1986;Thornton and Trent, 1988), others examine student and school-level factors that can predict student punishment (Mendez et al, 2002;Wu et al, 1982). Extant literature finds that on the individual student level, gender (Gordon et al, 2000;Gregory, 1997;Mendez et al, 2002;Nichols et al, 1999;Skiba et al, 2000Skiba et al, , 2002, family structure (Mendez et al, 2002), delinquency (Costenbader andMarkson, 1994, 1998;Mendez et al, 2002), and attitudes toward school (Costenbader and Markson, 1988;Mendez et al, 2002;Morrison et al, 2001;Wu et al, 1982) all are important predictors of punishment outcomes for all students at school.…”