Discipline Beyond Suspensions: Racial/Ethnic Disparities Across the Spectrum of Disciplinary Actions

Little research examines whether the alternatives to suspension reduce racial/ethnic discipline disparities. Using unusually rich administrative data from a large district in the South, we investigate how schools use a range of disciplinary actions and the racial/ethnic gaps in their use. School leaders may respond to discipline incidents with a variety of guidance-based and punitive actions, but most commonly apply a single punitive action. Moreover, non-exclusionary alternatives are applied unequally; among students involved in the same fight, White students are more likely to lose privileges as their harshest consequence, while Black students are more likely to receive suspensions or be reported to a school resource officer. Our results highlight that alternatives to suspensions can themselves be sources of racial/ethnic inequality.