Are U.S. Schools Discriminating When Suspending Students With Disabilities? A Best-Evidence Synthesis

Abstract

We examined whether U.S. schools systemically discriminate when suspending or otherwise disciplining students with disabilities (SWD). Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria. We coded 147 available risk estimates from these 18 studies. Of four studies including individual-level controls for infraction reasons, over half of the available estimates (i.e., 14 of 24, or 58%) failed to indicate that SWD were more likely to be suspended than otherwise similar students without disabilities. Of the seven available estimates adjusted for the strong confound of individual-level behavior, most (i.e., five of seven, or 71%) failed to indicate that SWD were more likely to be suspended. The other two estimates indicating SWD were more likely to be suspended were from one study. We also examined whether SWD were less likely to be suspended than otherwise similar students without disabilities. There was no strong evidence of this. Empirical evidence regarding whether U.S. schools discriminate when disciplining SWD is currently inconclusive.

Preschool Suspension and Expulsion for Young Children With Disabilities

“…Instead, children with reported behavioral problems were much more likely to experience exclusionary practices after controlling for child age, gender, race, ethnicity, parent education, and poverty ratio (Gilliam, 2005; Gilliam & Shahar, 2006; Zeng et al, 2019). The pattern we identified aligns with research conducted at the K–12 settings (Morgan et al, 2019). Several reasons may explain why children with reported behavioral and conduct problems are more likely to be suspended or expelled.…”

“…Although the data are alarming, merely using descriptive statistics to infer disproportionality can over- or underestimate the situation, and more advanced modeling is needed to estimate the inappropriate discipline practices for young children with disabilities. As a recent review (Morgan et al, 2019) suggests, there is no strong evidence suggesting that students with disabilities are more likely to be suspended or expelled compared with their peers in K–12 school settings, especially when individual-level behavior problems are adjusted.…”