[Abstract]
In the context of a national conversation about exclusionary discipline, we
conducted a multilevel examination of the relative contributions of infraction,
student, and school characteristics to rates of and racial disparities
in out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Type of infraction; race, gender,
and to a certain extent socioeconomic status at the individual level; and, at
the school level, mean school achievement, percentage Black enrollment,
and principal perspectives all contributed to the probability of out-of-school
suspension or expulsion. For racial disparities, however, school-level variables,
including principal perspectives on discipline, appear to be among
the strongest predictors. Such a pattern suggests that schools and districts
looking to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in discipline would do well
to focus on school- and classroom-based interventions.