The Effects of Zero Tolerance Policies on Black Girls: Using Critical Race Feminism and Figured Worlds to Examine School Discipline

• Published in: Urban education (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Vol. 55; no. 10; pp. 1419 - 1440
• Main Authors: Hines-Datiri, Dorothy, Carter Andrews, Dorinda J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2020; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adults; African American Students; At Risk Students; Black people; Cultural Influences; Discipline; Disproportionate Representation; Elementary Secondary Education; Ethnic identity; Expulsion; Females; Femininity; Feminism; Feminist theory; Gender identity; Girls; Identity formation; Policy implementation; Race; Racial Bias; Racial Identification; School discipline; Sexual Identity; Suspension; Tolerance; Urban Schools; Well Being; Zero tolerance; Zero Tolerance Policy; race; identity; discipline policies; urban education; zero tolerance policies; Black females; cultural responsiveness
• ISSN: 0042-0859; 1552-8340
• DOI: 10.1177/0042085917690204

Black girls are more likely to be suspended or expelled through exclusionary discipline than their female counterparts, but continue to be overlooked and understudied. This article presents a case for using critical race feminism and figured worlds as theoretical frameworks for examining the effects of zero tolerance policies on Black girls. We use these frameworks to explore how adults’ implementation of disciplinary policies not only affects the racial and gender identity development of Black girls, but perpetuates anti-Black discipline and represents behavioral responses to White femininity that may not align with Black girls’ femininity and identification with school.