U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

NCES 2020-026 MARCH2020

The data in this report are from the 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2015–16, and 2017–18 administrations of the School Survey on Crime 

and Safety (SSOCS). SSOCS is a nationally representative sample survey of public elementary and secondary schools in the 50 states and the 

District of Columbia. The survey asks principals about the prevalence of crime and violence in their schools, as well as the practices and programs 

their schools have in place to promote school safety. Specifically, principals are asked whether their school allows certain disciplinary actions, 

including expulsion from school,1 and, if so, whether these actions were used during the current school year. 

 Expulsion From School as a 

Disciplinary Action 

This report examines the percentage 

of U.S. public elementary and 

secondary schools that were allowed 

to expel students from school as a 

disciplinary action and the percentage 

of schools that used this action. This 

analysis examines both expulsion with 

and without continuing services (such 

as school-provided tutoring or home 

instruction).2 Specifically, this report 

investigates the trend over time in 

schools’ allowance for and use of 

these disciplinary actions, and 

comparisons between schools with 

varying levels of minority student 

enrollment. While differences in the 

percentage of schools allowed to use 

expulsion as a disciplinary action 

highlight differences in school, district, 

or state policies, differences in the use 

of expulsion highlight differences in 

schools’ actual practices.

What percentage of public 

schools were allowed to expel 

students from school as a 

disciplinary action in school 

year 2017–18, and what 

percentage used this action? 

How have these percentages 

changed over time? 

In school year 2017–18, about 46 

percent of schools were allowed to 

expel students from school with 

continuing services, compared with 

35 percent that were allowed to expel 

students without continuing services 

(figure 1). 

This pattern was consistent over time, 

with a higher percentage of public 

schools reporting being allowed to 

expel students from school with 

continuing services than without in 

each survey year.

Both of these percentages decreased 

between school years 2003–04 and 

2017–18. In 2003–04, some 62 

percent of public schools reported that 

they were allowed to expel students 

from school with continuing services, 

and 51 percent of schools reported 

that they were allowed to expel 

students without continuing services. 

Over the same period, there were also 

decreases in the percentage of public 

schools that actually used expulsion 

with continuing services (from 16 to 

13 percent) and without continuing 

services (from 12 to 8 percent). 

FIGURE 1. Percentage of public schools that reported being allowed to use 

expulsion from school as a disciplinary action and percentage that used this 

action, by type of expulsion: School years 2003–04 through 2017–18 

NOTE: Continuing services include school-provided tutoring or home instruction. Responses were provided by the 

principal or the person most knowledgeable about school crime and policies to provide a safe environment. The 

School Survey on Crime and Safety was not administered in 2011–12 and 2013–14.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), School Survey on Crime 

and Safety (SSOCS), 2003–04 through 2017–18. 

To learn more about the data collection used in this report, visit https://nces.ed.gov/

surveys/ssocs/. For questions about content or to view this report online, go to 

https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020026.
Expulsion From School as a Disciplinary Action 

In school year 2017–18, was 

there a difference in the 

percentage of schools that 

were allowed to use, or 

actually used, expulsion from 

school by the percentage of 

minority enrollment?3

During the 2017–18 school year, 

70 percent of low minority enrollment 

schools4 were allowed to expel 

students from school with continuing 

services, compared with 34 percent of 

high minority enrollment schools. A 

similar pattern was observed for 

expulsion without continuing services 

(figure 2).

Among only those schools that were 

allowed to expel students with 

continuing services, there was no 

significant difference in the usage of 

this disciplinary action by the 

percentage of minority enrollment.

In contrast, among only those schools 

that were allowed to expel students 

without continuing services, a higher 

percentage of high minority enrollment 

schools (31 percent) actually used this 

disciplinary action in school year 

2017–18, compared with low minority 

enrollment schools (12 percent). 

In summary, schools with higher 

percentages of minorities are less 

likely to be allowed to expel students 

without services but are more likely to 

actually use expulsion without 

services when allowed.

FIGURE 2. Percentage of public schools that reported being allowed to expel students from school as a disciplinary 

action and, of these schools, percentage that used this action during the current school year, by type of expulsion 

and percentage of minority enrollment: School year 2017–18 

! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent. 

NOTE: Continuing services include school-provided tutoring or home instruction. Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about school crime 

and policies to provide a safe environment. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2017–18 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2018. 

Endnotes 

1 SSOCS asks about removing students from school 

for “at least the remainder of the school year” and 

“less than the remainder of the school year.” This 

report focuses on removal for at least the remainder 

of the school year, referred to in this report as 

expulsion. 

2 In the 2017–18 survey, students removed from 

school with continuing services were defined as 

having received “school-provided tutoring or home 

instruction.” In previous administrations, the survey 

item used the phrase “at-home instruction.”

3 Minority enrollment is the percent combined 

enrollment of Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific 

Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native 

students, and students of Two or more races. 

4 Low minority enrollment schools are defined as 

schools with less than 5 percent minority enrollment. 

High minority enrollment schools are defined as 

schools with 50 percent or more minority enrollment. 

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents 

information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Zoe 

Padgett and Melissa Diliberti of the American Institutes for Research (AIR). 

Estimates based on samples are subject to sampling variability, and 

apparent differences may not be statistically significant. All stated differences 

are statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple 

comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, 

efforts are made to minimize effects of nonsampling errors, such as item 

nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic 

error.