Tag: School climate and culture

Evidence-Based Practices to Reduce Racial Inequity in School Discipline

This brief synthesizes research on how schools and districts can reduce racial inequities in school discipline, with a particular focus on reducing the use of exclusionary discipline practices such as suspensions and expulsions. It highlights the persistent and well-documented disparities in disciplinary outcomes for Black, Indigenous, Latine, and other marginalized student groups, explores the historical, structural, and interpersonal factors that contribute to these inequities, and examines why many discipline reforms fail to produce lasting change. Drawing on both experimental and descriptive research, the brief outlines evidence-based practices that can reduce disciplinary disparities, including using disaggregated discipline data for continuous improvement, revising discipline codes to limit subjective offenses, implementing restorative justice and equity-focused Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), increasing access to school-based mental health professionals, strengthening teacher-student relationships, providing individualized coaching on culturally responsive practices, and fostering students’ sense of belonging. The brief also identifies common approaches that are less effective, such as one-time anti-bias trainings or suspension reduction policies that are not paired with explicit equity-focused implementation and accountability measures.