Why do racial disparities school discipline in exist? The Role of Policies, Processes, People, and Places.

As I discussed in this post, I am part of a research team at VCU (where I am getting my PhD) with the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) studying racial disparities in disciplinary practices in K-12 public schools. The study specifically looks at this phenomenon in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area.

I previously participated in a podcast about the study with other team members.

More recently, I helped to write this brief (third author) associated with the project entitled, Why do racial disparities school discipline in exist? The Role of Policies, Processes, People, and Places.

This brief is part of larger regional study of racial equity in discipline policies and practices conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC). The goal of the broader project is to: (1) analyze racial disproportionality in discipline across the Richmond area, (2) explore various interventions designed to ameliorate disproportionality, and (3) provide recommendations that inform policymaking and practice in the Richmond region. This is the first of two research briefs on racially inequitable school discipline. The subsequent brief will examine the history and theory of action behind different discipline models or interventions, as well as evidence of their impact on racial disproportionality. At the end of this brief, five of the key research studies on this topic are summarized.

Go here for the pdf.