Patterns in Recidivism and Discretionary Placement in Disciplinary Alternative Education: The Impact of Gender, Ethnicity, Age, and Special Education Status

Discipline Disproportionality among Hispanic and American Indian Students: Expanding the Discourse in U.S. Research

“…Booker and Mitchell's (2011) study of placement in disciplinary alternative education settings and recidivism found that Latino students were 12 times more likely to be placed in a disciplinary alternative education setting than their White peers and 4.1 times more likely to return to the alternative setting within the same school year. This study (Booker & Mitchell, 2011) did not include data on American Indian students. Booker and Mitchell (2011) concurred with studies indicating that White students were disciplined for more severe offenses, the findings were particularly remarkable in that Latino students were more likely than either White or African American students to be placed in alternative education programs for "administrator discretionary reasons" (p. 203).…”

“…This study (Booker & Mitchell, 2011) did not include data on American Indian students. Booker and Mitchell (2011) concurred with studies indicating that White students were disciplined for more severe offenses, the findings were particularly remarkable in that Latino students were more likely than either White or African American students to be placed in alternative education programs for "administrator discretionary reasons" (p. 203). One study that relied on parent reports of removal found that the highest rates were for American Indian students (38%) and African-American students (35%), at an intermediate level for Latino students (20%) and at the lowest level for White (15%) and Asian American students (13%) (Hoffman & Llagas, 2003).…”

Effects of a Motivational Interviewing–Based Counseling Program on Classroom Behavior of Children in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

“…For example, five out of the 15 students in the study were placed in the DAEP for the second or third time. These students reported that they never received counseling services or attended a counseling program during their previous referrals, which underscores the need for mental health services for youth in restrictive facilities (Booker & Mitchell, ; Geronimo, ; Mathur & Nelson, ). Furthermore, the results of this study were generally consistent with empirical literature in that the MI‐based MPCC program yielded promising findings related to the improvement of counseling outcomes of students, such as class participation, academic performance, and treatment attendance (Cryer & Atkinson, ; Mason, ; Strait et al, ).…”

“…Estimates indicate that one in five youth in the United States exhibits behavioral problems (Stormont, Reinke, & Herman, ) that negatively affect their functioning in traditional school settings (Brennan & Shaw, ; Neely‐Barnes & Whitted, ; Racz & McMahon, ). Many of these students are removed from the typical school environment because of persistent disruption (Booker & Mitchell, ). Disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEPs; Johnson et al, ) are charged with providing students who have behavioral problems with an opportunity to continue their education and learn skills to support the reentry to the regular campus (Ricard, Lerma, & Heard, ).…”

“…Therefore, many students in alternative schools do not receive adequate interventions that address their specific needs; rather, they may simply be exposed to a punitive or supervised time‐out situation (Eyberg, Nelson, & Boggs, ; Mathur & Nelson, ). Student progress may typically be evaluated solely on the basis of compliance to school rules and regulations (Booker & Mitchell, ). Although there are a number of evidence‐based treatment programs implemented with students in a school setting (Eyberg et al, ; Johnson et al, ; Mathur & Nelson, ; Nelson & Eckstein, ; Stormont et al, ), little research has been conducted on DAEPs (Foley & Pang, ; Ricard et al, ).…”