Every year, from school. But there are huge disparities in who those students are. According to , Black students鈥攂oth boys and girls鈥攁re disproportionately disciplined, receiving a larger share of suspensions and expulsions than would be expected based on their enrollment. A found that 鈥渞elative to white students, Black students were 3.6 times more likely to have been suspended out of school, 2.5 times more likely to have been suspended in school, 3.4 times more likely to have been expelled, 2.4 times more likely to have been referred to law enforcement, 2.9 times more likely to have experienced a school-based arrest, and 2.3 times more likely to have been corporally punished.鈥�
Those numbers are especially worrisome for Black families, who see that pattern of disproportionate discipline repeated in state after state — and have to live with the too-common view that their kids are just more disruptive than other kids. But all parents should be concerned. The U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 2023 state that 鈥渦nfair student discipline practices can cause students to feel unsafe in learning environments and result in a negative school climate overall, including a range of poor academic, social, emotional, and mental health outcomes.鈥�
Check out The essential guide to managing your child’s behavior and discipline. In our guide, you can see all the aspects of children’s behavior that we cover. Our guide helps you understand your child鈥檚 behavior, respond with care, and use discipline effectively.
There are ways, however, that parents can be on guard against excessive discipline and see to it that when their kids misbehave, the school鈥檚 response is appropriate.. Here are three important factors to consider and five things to do to help your child navigate disciplinary issues.
3 discipline issues to consider
1. Zero-tolerance discipline policies can be damaging
In 2020 at Norwood High School outside Boston, 15-year-old Marcus Leitch, who had no previous disciplinary issues, garnered local news attention when he was suspended for 90 days after a fight with a student he said bullied him. The school ultimately reduced the punishment to less than a month — but only after his mother enlisted the help of a .
Even though the suspension was reduced, Marcus struggled at to understand the severity of the punishment for what he saw as self-defense. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what to do for him,鈥� said his mother, Kerry Sullivan. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not the same child, and it infuriates me.鈥�
Zero tolerance policies, which mandate severe disciplinary actions — like suspension or expulsion — for specific infractions without consideration of context or intent, originated in the mid-1990s amid a wave of federal 鈥渢ough on crime鈥� legislation. In the years since, that such policies increase suspensions and expulsions without improving student behavior, and . What鈥檚 more, they can damage students鈥� feelings about school and negatively impact their academic success years later, according to .
According to a , 62% of U.S. public schools had zero-tolerance policies in place during the 2021鈥�2022 school year, with such policies more common in middle and high schools than in elementary schools. At the elementary level, the survey found, schools with different student demographics were equally likely to have zero-tolerance policies. But at the high school level, concerning differences emerged. 鈥淩elative to secondary schools with mostly white populations, schools serving mostly Black students were much more likely to have zero-tolerance policies (82% compared to 68%).”
2. Severe discipline is linked to bias
Bias on the part of teachers and administrators can be a real roadblock to fair discipline; research has shown that Black students are more likely than white students to be , and that teachers view the same behavior as when a student is Black.
In a , Princeton University researchers used federal data covering 32 million K-12 students across the U. S. to look at how racial disparities in school discipline related to county-level measures of racial bias. They found that Black students experienced higher rates of suspension, expulsion, and law enforcement referrals than white students, and that this gap was larger in counties with higher measures of racial bias — suggesting a strong link between how biased a community is and how fairly its students are disciplined.
3. Restorative justice promises fairer discipline in schools
Disciplinary initiatives such as take a proactive approach by aiming to build a healthy classroom community and deter volatile situations. These programs enable offenders to own their actions, mediate their problems, and propose solutions within a school community or classroom. Restorative justice is intended as a first disciplinary response, before harsher penalties later, if needed.
Restorative Justice programs have been supported by 21 states (and the District of Columbia) since 2011. According to the Center for Poverty and Inequality, 鈥� and connectedness, promotes student health and well-being, lowers discipline rates, and reduces racial disparities in school discipline鈥濃�攚ithout removing students from the classroom.
Shavonne Gibson, former assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Washington, DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education, has for holding students accountable without out-of-school suspensions. 鈥淚f we continue to exclude students from their learning environment due to discipline, we continue to put the students, often who need us most, further and further behind.鈥�
But there has been some criticism of the practice. In a Psychology Today article describing 鈥淣ine Criticisms of School Restorative Justice,鈥� Dr. Mikhail Lyubansky, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor, wrote that the practice of having students meet in a classroom circle to hash out offenses 鈥�.鈥� Furthermore, he argues,because the program鈥檚 goals are often framed around 鈥渕utual understanding,鈥� there will inevitably be premature reconciliations, with 鈥渦nmet needs鈥� for all parties involved.
So caught between zero-tolerance policies, implicit and explicit bias in schools and communities, and the uncertainties of a new way of discipline, what鈥檚 a parent to do?
5 ways parents can navigate school discipline issues
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Ask for the school鈥檚 discipline policy when your child enrolls
Know before trouble arises what the school鈥檚 discipline code is, and ask for a printed copy. Find out if your child鈥檚 school has zero-tolerance discipline policies. Parents should also be aware that , corporal punishment is legal in 17 states and practiced in 14 (most often in ), though the American Academy of Pediatrics and major public health organizations have called for the practice to be banned.
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Find out if the punishment fits the misbehavior
If your child is disciplined at school, ask for a detailed account of the alleged misconduct and why the specific consequence was enforced. Ask about the history of similar incidents at the school and how they were handled. This should help you understand if the discipline is fair or misplaced.
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Find out if the school has a restorative justice program
As of 2020, have legislation that supports restorative justice programs in schools. If your school doesn’t have a program, ask the principal if they’ve considered incorporating restorative justice practices. The California Department of Education offers into existing school policies, focusing on proactive relationship-building and embedding the practices into school culture. And the Santa Clara County office of Education offers a .
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Push for your child鈥檚 school to hire Black and Hispanic teachers
Do not hesitate to inquire about the diversity amongst the school鈥檚 faculty. Studies have found that when both the student and teacher are Black, there are fewer suspensions and expulsions. Moreover, research has also found that Black students鈥� academic and behavioral success typically improves when they鈥檙e represented amongst faculty, especially when Black students have Black teachers.
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Don鈥檛 be afraid of asking for help beyond the school
If you aren鈥檛 able to resolve a problem at your child鈥檚 school to your satisfaction, consider reaching out to someone at the district level, or even contacting the NAACP, as Kerry Sullivan did in Massachusetts, the , or another group that can help you redress unfair punishment.
Every disciplinary scenario is not the same. So take your child鈥檚 case step-by-step. Listen to your child鈥檚 account of the incident that caused the problem and write it down (what happened, who was involved, how it started, and the date and time). Then start by talking with the teacher or school official who was first involved with the incident. If you鈥檙e not satisfied, document that exchange too, and proceed to the next higher level — which could be a department head, dean, assistant principal, or principal — before making an appeal at the district level. While it鈥檚 always best for parents to know the rules of the school beforehand, remember that none of those rules ever say that Black students should be treated more harshly than everyone else.
Editor鈥檚 note: Want to learn more about how to document issues and bring them up through the chain of command at your school and in your district? Read When the teacher is the bully.
