The School to Prison Pipeline: Understanding the Problem and Solutions

1. The School to Prison Pipeline: Understanding the Problem and What Research Suggests Can Get Us Back on Track By Daniel J. Losen

2. Outline of Presentation • Description of the school to prison pipeline with a focus on race and disability disparities • Why this is an education issue, and what is at stake • What the data suggests are contributing factors • The role of poverty • Why disparate impact analysis should inform policy decisions • What research suggests can be done • The importance of addressing disparities in remedies

3. Opportunities Suspended: The Disparate Impact of Disciplinary Exclusion • By Daniel Losen and Jonathan Gillespie • Looked at K-12 • Out of School and Off Track: The Overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools, by Daniel Losen and Tia Martinez • www.schooldisciplinedata.org • Research summary available there, too (soon to be a book, Closing the School Discipline Gap: Research to Policy, (Teachers College Press, 2014))

4. My Story…. • Son of school administrators • Taught for 10 years • Married to a public school educator • Discipline issues…

6. Secondary Suspension Rates: Then and Now (all students)

7. Suspension Rates in Secondary Schools are larger and Deeper Still For Students With Disabilities (2009-10)

8. BEWARE National Comparisons • This is a tremendous national problem with devastating impact on the lives and futures of our children. • Being at or near the average for out-of-school suspensions should be cause for alarm not complacency….

9. Research and Experts in Children’s Development • American Psychological Association • Academy of American Pediatrics • National Association of School Psychologists • Center for Disease Control • National School Boards Association all agree: Suspension should be only utilized as a measure of last resort.

10. One third of all juveniles behind bars are student with disabilities Photo of youth behind bars

11. Discipline Disparities (K-12) by Disability Category (2010-11)

12. Just Differences in Behavior? Or Do School Policies and Practices Matter?

13. Risk for Suspension in Selected Maine Districts (Secondary Schools) 2009-2010

14. If you are in a high-suspending district, you can reject the status quo…. • District and school level policy and practices make a tremendous difference. • Always question large disparities….

15. 2009-10 District Distribution of K-12 Suspension Rates for Students with Disabilities in CT, MA, VT, NH, ME (Number of Districts)

16. Many School Districts Suspend Less than 3% of Their students • We assigned a risk of 3%, as “low suspending” (the approximate national average for Whites in the early 1970s). We then counted the number of districts in the sample that enrolled at least 1000 students and at least 10 students from a given subgroup. • Of 4,504 districts, for Black students it was 3% or less in 1,437 districts.   • Of the 4,667, for students with disabilities, it was 3% or less in 653 districts.

17. Racial Differences in Behavior? • Likely many factors contributing to patterns but despite anecdotes, no research supports this as an explanation for suspensions (and it would be hard to conduct such research) • Disparate impact analysis is not trying to detect intentional discrimination but whether the policy or practice is educationally necessary….thas said…. • Most extensive and robust study of Texas middle school students, controlled for other factors and found that white students were more likely than Blacks to commit a “mandatory” offense.

18. The Largest Racial Disparities are for less serious “Discretionary” violations • Study of Indiana- 95% non-violent “other” • Council of State Governments extensive review in Texas, a large majority will be removed from class on disciplinary grounds at least once in 6 years. • Whites in Texas were more frequently disciplined for “non-discretionary” infractions. (Possession of weapons/drugs….) • Are most of these kids typical adolescents, or dangerous thugs?

19. Racial Disparities In Use of Suspension for First Time Offenders By Type of Offense

20. Cell Phone Use • 4,838 Whites and 2,242 Blacks disciplined for first offense of Cell Phone Use. • 32.7% (732) of the Blacks were suspended out of school. • 14.5% (704) of the Whites were suspended out of school. The Civil Rights Project

21. Unpacking the Poverty Rationale • There is likely more to the observed differences than poverty can explain. • Longitudinal study in Texas, adjusted for 83 variables including race, poverty, prior behavior, and found schools make a big difference. • Chicago study found that the schools serving the students from the poorest and highest crime neighborhoods could feel as safe as schools serving the wealthiest and safest neighborhoods…

22. We Know Poverty Matters, But… • We find large differences in suspension rates by race and disability status, often shrink, but only a little bit, after controlling for poverty. • Large race and disability and gender differences are not explained away by poverty. • But what if poverty did explain the differences? • The poverty explanation, if it ever did sufficiently explain the race and disability differences in statistical terms, would still only satisfy the concerns about unlawful different treatment driving the disparities… • …but would beg the question, why are schools suspending so many poor kids so often?

23. What About Poverty? • What is the concept behind the question? • Is it that poor kids misbehave more often? • If so, should they then spend more time at home unsupervised as the solution? • What about gender differences? • What about disability differences? Can we exclude children from educational opportunity on the basis of having a disability? [Hint, the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution says NO!] • What about race with disability? Disability with gender?

24. Students With Disabilities • Some may be misbehaving more because: • It’s a manifestation of their disability • Their behavioral improvement plan needs adjusting. • They are frustrated because the supports and services they receive are inadequate. • Disability bias. • Other incentives to push them out. • How is suspending them at double the rate of their non-disabled peers educationally sound?

25. Disparate Impact Approach • Differences in behavior are not relevant because…the intent of the educators is not at issue. • Once a disparity is established, disparate impact analysis asks whether the policy or practice (the disciplinary response) by educators is educationally justifiable.

26. The Core Concept is Exclusion from Education as Punishment • Is it OK to kick out the “bad” kids out so the “good” kids can learn? • Is this the only choice before us? • Is it educationally sound policy or practice for public schools? • Does sending misbehaving kids home work? • Deterrence? • Behavior? • Education outcomes? • Does it make economic sense? • Will it make our communities safer?

27. Using A Disparate Impact Analysis to Address Disparities • One: Is a policy or practice adversely impacting some groups of children more than others? • Two: Is the policy or practice educationally justifiable? • Three: Even if justifiable, is a less discriminatory alternative is available?

28. The First Question: Is there a policy or practice that has an adverse impact (unintended consequences) that harms some groups more than others? • Large disparities in many districts (race and disability and gender). • Fact: Suspensions are a leading indicator of future dropping out and incarceration • Johns Hopkins study: Associated risk of dropping out from just one out-of-school suspension (from 16% to 32%) • Non-partisan Council of State Governments longitudinal study of every middle school student in Texas showed similar associated risks, including threefold increase in risk for juvenile justice involvement. “Breaking Schools Rules.”

29. Question Two: Educational Justification? • How about when students are a danger to themselves or others, or exhibit other extreme misbehaviors? But unsupervised? • What about to de-escalate and/or investigate?…. • Are these justifications for the frequent use of out of school suspension for less serious non-violent conduct? Suspension for truancy and tardiness? Dress code violations?

30. Focusing on behavior differences skirts the core question. • Is out-of-school suspension justifiable, and even if so, is it the best practice?

31. Three Prominent Justifications • To get parents attention • To deter future misbehavior…peers and student • To ensure a safe, orderly and effective educational environment, “So the good kids can learn.” What does the research say?

32. You need to kick out the “bad” kids so the “good” kids can learn…has no research support. • Research (Indiana) shows that principals who treated discipline as part of the educational mission, embraced clear rules and fair consequences, and regarded suspension as a measure of last resort had lower suspension rates and higher test scores than those that embraced highly punitive measures and saw misbehaving students and their parents as the source of the problem. • Texas reports compared similar districts and after controlling for over 80 variables and there were no benefits to higher rates of suspension in terms of test scores. • Qualitative research has demonstrated that students often behave differently in different classrooms. • Research by Pedro Noguera suggested that when teachers were allowed to remove the disruptive kids, new disruptive kids soon emerged. • Kicking out the “bad” kids does not improve the learning environment as measured by achievement, after controlling for race and poverty. • Myth “BUSTED”

33. Will deter future misbehavior… • Truancy? • Mendez study: suspension in grade 6 highly correlated with repeated suspensions in the future. • Data demonstrate increasing numbers of students suspended between grades 6 and 9. • No research behind this common assumption.

34. Pinellas County’s Cohort’s Suspension Rate As Students Advanced in Grade Percentage of cohort’s enrollment suspended at least once: (Mendez 2003) The Civil Rights Project

35. Get Parental Attention • Increased parental attention is a sound goal. • American Academy of Pediatrics conclusions • Adds stress • Increases risk factors for child and family • Won’t help anyone if seriously dysfunctional parenting is the root cause Many other ways to improve parental involvement

36. Relieves Teacher Stress? • In the short-term, perhaps, but…. • Studies suggest that frequent suspensions break down teacher-parent and teacher-student trust and harms these relationships. • And we know it adds to student disengagement. • Most teachers will admit that students do not come back better behaved. • Frequent suspensions can undermine a teacher’s authority in the classroom.

37. Question Three: Are There Less Discriminatory Alternatives?

38. Major Remedies Include • Less punitive responses (school code and change in theory) • Tiered intervention strategies (PBIS; RtI; Threat Assessment Protocol) • Strategies targeting social and emotional learning • Restorative practices

39. Common Threads: What Works • Improving teacher/student engagement • Teacher/parent engagement • “Buy in” by leaders and teachers • Positive rather than punitive approaches • Reflection on the data • Rejecting the status quo and problem solving • Acknowledging how the adults and the the school system contributes to the problems

40. Frequently suspending adolescents for minor infractions does not work. • Eliminate the unsound practice, starting with the most obvious ones: • Baltimore forbids the use of suspension for truancy and several other minor offenses • McKinley High School in Boston reversed its closed door policy that constructively suspended all tardy students. • Connecticut limits out-of-school suspensions. Reduce discretion around out-of-school suspension. • Research indicates that PBIS is effective reducing disciplinary referrals, but should be aligned with school code.

41. Need to Move Beyond Compliance • Learn from the experience of other school districts: • http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Change-in-Suspension-Policy-Helps-San-Jose-High-School-223997471.html • http://www.npr.org/2013/06/02/188125079/why-some-schools-want-to-expel-suspensions

42. Beyond Changes to Discipline Policy: Alternatives • High quality pre-school (associated with fewer anti-social behaviors in school). • Mandatory classroom and behavior management training for certification as well as professional development for new teachers. • The Seattle Social Development Project • Coaching for teachers to improve instruction and • Developmentally sequenced parenting workshops • Social and citizenship skills training for children to learn and practice these skills

43. Social and Emotional Health • Improve procedural protections for students with disabilities • Reduce misidentification in special education • Wrap-around services • Mulit-systemic therapy • Trauma awareness and support

44. Social and Emotional Learning • Teaches students directly about how to deal with frustration and anger • Problem solving techniques • Group work skills • Conflict resolution skills….

45. Restorative Practices • Offender accountability is central • As is the value of each child to the community as a whole. • Seeks to make the victim whole again. • Seeks to get at the root cause of the offender’s behavior. • Emphasis on prevention.

46. Tiered Intervention Strategies • School-wide Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems • RtI: Response to intervention approach has behavioral component • Virginia’s Threat Assessment Protocol

47. Tiers of a Process (not a new set of labels) PBS/RTI Three-Tiered Model

48. Will these alternatives reduce the disparities? • They don’t always • How change is measured and evaluated can lead to different conclusions

49. What about unconscious bias? • Disparities remain a problem, even if there is no clear evidence of intentional discrimination based on race or disability status. • Systemic failure to address the behavioral challenges experienced by students with disabilities is unlawful. • Implicit bias against students with disabilities and students of color can influence both the perceptions of misbehavior and the chosen responses.

50. Entangled Contributors