Breaking Schools’ Rules: How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement

A comprehensive analysis of Texas school suspension and expulsion policies reveals that a majority of students were suspended or expelled between seventh and twelfth grade. Nearly 6 in 10 public school students received such disciplinary action.

The study examined every incoming Texas seventh-grader over three years and followed them for the next six years or more. The nearly one million students had their school records matched with juvenile justice records. Among the students who had been suspended at least once, 23 percent had a log with the juvenile justice system. Comparatively, 2 percent of students with no suspensions had been involved with the juvenile justice system.

The study notes that schools with similar characteristics, such as racial composition and economic status, varied greatly in how frequently they imposed disciplinary actions. Additionally, most of the disciplinary actions were made at the discretion of school officials; only 3 percent were for conduct in which state law mandated suspensions and expulsions. African-American students and students with educational disabilities were disproportionately disciplined.

The report was released in July 2011 by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a national nonprofit organization that strives to increase public safety and strengthen communities. The CSG Justice Center released the repot in partnership with Texas A&M University’s Public Policy Research Institute.

Read the report.