Opportunities Suspended: The Disparate Impact of Disciplinary Exclusion from School

By Daniel J. Losen and Jonathan Gillespie

Since its founding 16 years ago, The Civil Rights Projects central focus has been on racial and ethnic inequalities in educational opportunities, and on policies that could remedy the resulting inequalities in school outcomes,

One thing that has become very clear through our work at the Civil Rights Project is that it is critically important to keep students, especially those facing inequality in other parts of their lives, enrolled in school. This relates directly to the common and often highly inappropriate policy of punishing students who are already at risk of dropping out by suspending them from school. Because suspension increases a young person’s probability of both dropping out and becoming involved with the criminal justice system, it is difficult to justify, except in extreme situations where safety or the educational process of the school is directly and seriously threatened. For the vast majority of cases, however, the challenge is to find a way to address the situation with better practices, more alternatives, and more effective training of school personnel.

Los Angeles: The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA, 2012. 48p.