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Disproportionate suspensions of African Americans by schools not due to misbehavior, new study finds
June 14, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Disproportionate school suspensions of African American students may be caused more by bias than by student misbehavior or socioeconomic status, according to a new Indiana University study. Results of the study will be reported Friday (June 16) at the National Summit on Zero Tolerance and School Discipline in Washington, D.C.
"Our work provided a detailed study of the over-representation of African American students in office referrals and school suspensions," said Russell Skiba, associate professor in the IU School of Education and an expert on school violence. The study, involving 11,000 middle school students in a major Midwestern school system, compared the reasons for office referral and the disciplinary consequences received by black and white students.
The report is at http://www.indiana.edu/~iepc under "On-line Publications" and "Policy Research Reports." Skiba can be reached at 812-855-1240 or skiba@indiana.edu
The disproportionate rate of school suspension for African Americans has been well documented, Skiba said. "A common explanation is that it's because blacks act out more or because blacks are from low-income backgrounds. We found that neither of these statements is true," he said.
There were still racial disparities in the district's office referral and suspension data even when socioeconomic status was controlled, he explained. Disproportionality in suspension seemed to be due primarily to a rate of office referral for black students that was almost twice that for white students.
Yet there was no evidence that African American students act out more than other students, he said. Instead, the findings showed that white students were referred to the office more frequently for vandalism, obscene language, leaving without permission, or smoking, while black students were referred to the office for more minor and subjective reasons such as disrespect, excessive noise, threat or loitering.
"The more of these alternative explanations we rule out," Skiba said, "the more likely it becomes that disproportionality in school discipline is due, not to some characteristic of African American students, but to some form of bias or discrimination in the system."
Skiba, currently director of the federally-funded Safe and Responsive Schools Project, compiled the findings over the past year at IU's Indiana Education Policy Center with assistance from policy analyst Robert Michael and doctoral student Abra Nardo at IU and Professor Reece Peterson at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
The report also addresses strategies for reducing inequity in school discipline. "Teacher training in classroom management and cultural competence seems to be key," Skiba said. "Teachers who over-refer African American students may be over-reacting to minor cultural differences. We need to ensure that our teacher training programs provide teachers, especially in urban areas, with the tools they need to be able to manage classroom conflicts effectively and equitably."
(Richard Doty, 812-855-0084, rgdoty@indiana.edu)