Understanding Disproportionate Discipline in Suburban Public Schools

In the American public school system, Black and Hispanic students and low-SES (socioeconomic status) students are punished more frequently and more harshly than students of other races and socioeconomic statuses (Mitchell, 2014; Porter, 2015; Verdugo, 2002). This study seeks to examine whether or not the racial and SES composition of a high school is related to how students are disciplined. In order to examine this, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with school professionals at two high schools. The first school was predominantly white and middleto upper-SES, and the second was predominantly black and lower-SES. Findings indicate that students at the lower-SES high school are punished more harshly than students at the upper-SES high school. The analysis indicates that race, socioeconomic status, differing perceptions about students, and hypercriminalization are important factors in explaining the difference in discipline. Policy implications will be presented. DISPROPORTIONATE DISCIPLINE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.2 Chapter 1: Introduction.4 Chapter 2: Methodology.6 Chapter 3: Differential Punishment and Punishment Philosophies.12 Review of Literature.12 Findings.16 Discussion.25 Chapter 4: Hypercriminalization.28 Review of Literature.28 Findings.33 Discussion.39 Chapter 5: Structural and Individual Factors that Influence Perceptions of Students.42 Review of Literature.42 Findings.48 Discussion.59 Chapter 6:Perceived Effectiveness of Policy Changes.64 Review of Literature.64 Findings.66 Discussion.70 Chapter 7: Conclusion and Policy Implications.72 Bibliography.80 DISPROPORTIONATE DISCIPLINE 4 UNDERSTANDING DISPROPORTIONATE DISCIPLINE IN SUBURBAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Educational reformer Horace Mann (1796-1859) once said, “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of social machinery” (Rhode, Cooke, & Ojha, 2012, p. 1). While that quote was spoken over a century ago, the belief of education as a great equalizer is still prevalent in the American psyche. In fact, former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan echoed this sentiment in 2011 saying, “In America, education is still the great equalizer” (Rhode, Cooke, & Ojha, 2012, p. 1). However, the American public school system has historically not been the great equalizer it has been praised to be, especially in regards to Black and Hispanic students and students with a low socioeconomic status (SES). Up until 1954, schools were segregated by race, and despite the qualifier, “separate but equal,” they were far from equal. In the Supreme Court’s ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education, Chief Justice Warren said, “‘Education [was] perhaps the most important function of state and local governments,’ and that denial of equal education would make it difficult for children to perform their roles in a democratic society” (Greene, 2015, p. 133). According to him, to fail to uphold the promise of an equal education is to fail to uphold one of the most crucial tenets of America’s core values. Although schools are not legally allowed to segregate students based on race anymore, many schools are still fairly racially homogenous and/or homogenous in terms of socioeconomic status. For instance, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 16 percent of U.S. schools were comprised of 75 to 100 percent Black or Hispanic students and students eligible for free-and-reduced lunch (U. S. Government Accountability Office, 2016). The inequality in the U.S. in terms of public education and race and DISPROPORTIONATE DISCIPLINE 5 socioeconomic status is clear. For instance, in 2010, The Schott Foundation concluded that 78 percent of White males graduated from high school, while only 47 percent of Black males did (Storer, Mienko, Chang, Kang, Miyawaki, & Schultz, 2012). One reason for this may be the significant inequalities present in the disciplinary practices within public schools in this country. For instance, schools with higher percentages of Black and Hispanic students—as well as lowSES students—oftentimes have disproportionately higher suspension and expulsion rates. The objective of this thesis is to explore if and how race and socioeconomic status shape inequalities in disciplinary practices within the suburban public school system, and how Senate Bill 100, a recent law eliminating zero tolerance policies in Illinois, has affected schools by seeking to eliminate highly punitive disciplinary practices. While most of the current literature juxtaposes inner-city schools populated with Black and Hispanic students and low-SES students with suburban high schools populated with White students and high-SES students, this study explores differences between two suburban high schools—one predominantly White and middleto upper-SES, and one predominantly Black and lower-SES—that are just twenty-five miles apart from one another. Chapter 2 presents the methodology of this thesis. In Chapter 3, literature and findings relevant to different punishment styles and disciplinary practices is presented. Chapter 4 presents literature and findings regarding hypercriminalization and the school-to-prison pipeline. In Chapter 5, literature and findings relevant to structural and individual factors that impact school professionals’ perceptions and expectations of students is presented. Chapter 6 presents literature and findings on the perceived effectiveness of different policy implications, namely Senate Bill 100 and restorative justice. Finally, Chapter 7 offers policy implications and potential directions for future research. DISPROPORTIONATE DISCIPLINE 6 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY In order to explore potential differences in disciplinary practices of schools based on their racial and socioeconomic composition, two public suburban high schools in the state of Illinois were recruited to participate in the study. Schools were chosen based on their suburban location and opposing demographic characteristics. The target demographics were percentage of Black and Hispanic students and percentage of students eligible for free-and-reduced lunch, and these were meant to indicate the racial and socioeconomic compositions of the high schools. While the primary means of data for this study is qualitative, some quantitative data was initially gathered regarding the demographic compositions of the schools. Below is a chart of demographic information for the two target high schools (Illinois State Board of Education, 2016). After completing the interviews, academic achievement and resources were two themes that emerged as additional differences between the selected schools. As such, basic indicators of resources (average spending per pupil) and ACT score information were included in the charts. The category “two or more races” was excluded from analysis, as it is impossible to tell which racial groups students within that category belong to. The schools have been assigned pseudonyms. DISPROPORTIONATE DISCIPLINE 7 Qualitative research was chosen as the primary means of data collection for this study because much of the previous literature on disproportionate discipline has focused on quantitative data. While qualitative research does not allow for generalizability, it does allow researchers to delve deeply into the underlying mechanisms of the discipline disparity between race and SES that has been shown in several other studies. Qualitative research is important when trying to get a full picture of how a phenomenon, such as differential discipline, is manifesting itself within schools. Oftentimes, the voices of participants are “lost in research” among researchers’ own theories, so qualitative research seeks to ensure that the voice of participants are being heard (Adams, Chen, & Chapman, 2016, p. 9). Additionally, when creating policy implications, it is beneficial to understand the voice of those who will actually be affected by the policies. Each school was visited at least once, and while ethnographic observation was not part of the analysis, the researcher was able to observe some characteristics of each school while spending time there. At the high-SES school, the lobby area was very large and inviting, and had School name Enrollment Percent of Blac