Repeated School Suspensions: Who Receives Them, What Reasons Are Given, and How Students Fare

Abstract

Although out-of-school school suspensions have been correlated with negative school outcomes, they are still a common formal response given to students whose behavior is deemed problematic. Being suspended multiple times within an academic year results in students losing even more instructional time. In this study, we used longitudinal data for students from elementary to high school to examine: (a) demographic characteristics of students who received repeated out-of-school suspensions across six consecutive years, (b) common infractions that resulted in those school suspensions, and (c) the relationship between repeated suspensions and students’ later academic and behavior outcomes. We found that a high number of male and Black students, as well as students with disabilities, received repeated suspensions with minor infractions reported as the most common reasons. Regression analyses revealed a significant and negative relationship between repeated suspensions in the early grades and the number of suspensions students received in secondary school.

The Plight of Persistently Disciplined Students: Examining Frequent Flyers and the Conversion of Office Discipline Referrals Into Suspensions

“…Prior studies have examined students’ experiences being persistently disciplined and labeled as a “frequent flyer” and the label’s deficit underpinnings (Kennedy-Lewis, 2012, 2013; Kennedy-Lewis & Murphy, 2016; Kennedy-Lewis et al, 2016). Another set of studies have used quantitative analyses to shed light on students receiving multiple disciplinary consequences, with a focus on the frequency of suspensions over a period of time rather than in a single school year (Fisher et al, 2021; Smith et al, 2020; Wilkerson & Afacan, 2021). The study contributes to the robust school discipline literature through its focus on persistently disciplined students.…”

“…“Frequent flyers” have also been a salient topic in policy discussions. However, the relatively few studies that have focused on the frequency of exclusionary discipline and the experiences of persistently disciplined students have largely examined persistently suspended students (students who receive more than one suspension in a given school year; Balfanz et al, 2015; Kennedy-Lewis, 2012, 2013; Noltemeyer et al, 2015; Smith et al, 2020; Wilkerson & Afacan, 2021). Little attention has been paid to persistently referred students (students who receive more than one ODR in a given school year).…”

The Dimensions of School Discipline: Toward a Comprehensive Framework for Measuring Discipline Patterns and Outcomes in Schools

“…Where data and local context allow, the prevalence of exclusionary discipline should focus on differentiating suspension types (ISS or OSS). Given that research has highlighted the importance of a student’s disciplinary history and multiple suspensions (Mittleman, 2018; Wilkerson & Afacan, 2021), the chronic discipline rate can provide insights specific to the frequency of repeat offenders. Second, similar to prior studies (Curran, 2020; Girvan et al, 2019), we recommend using multiple measures of disparities (e.g., ARD and RRR) to examine racial disparities in school discipline in order to mitigate the shortcomings of each measure.…”

“…Yet, the discussion of school discipline rarely differentiates among the many available measures and how they in some instances point to divergent problematic patterns. Additionally, even though multiple suspensions is a path through which school discipline is linked to adult crime and suspension (Mittleman, 2018), relatively few within the robust school discipline literature, studies have focused on the frequency of suspensions and the experiences of students receiving multiple disciplinary consequences within a given school year (Kennedy-Lewis, 2012, 2013; Noltemeyer et al, 2015; Skiba et al, 2014; Wilkerson & Afacan, 2021).…”

Potential Racial Threat on Student In-School Suspensions in Segregated U.S. Neighborhoods

“…Current studies on school discipline have largely examined out-of-school suspension due to the direct loss of learning that results from the physical removal of disruptive children from school (Wilkerson & Afacan, 2022; Yaluma et al, 2021). In-school suspension, which excludes disobedient students from classroom instruction for a short period of time but allows them to remain at school, has been comparatively understudied.…”