Discipline Referrals and Access to Secondary Level Support in Elementary and Middle Schools: Patterns Across African-American, Hispanic-American, and White Students

• Published in: Education & treatment of children Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 431 - 458
• Main Authors: Vincent, Claudia G., Tobin, Tary J., Hawken, Leanne S., Frank, Jennifer L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York West Virginia University Press 01.08.2012; West Virginia University Press, University of West Virginia
• Subjects: Academic Support Services; African American Students; African Americans; Behavior; Behavior Problems; Behavioral disorders; Book publishing; Case studies; Child behavior; Child behaviour; Child psychopathology; Childhood mental disorders; Children; Core curriculum; Cultural identity; Decision making; Disabled students; Discipline; Disproportionate Representation; Education grants; Educational programs; Elementary School Students; Elementary schools; Ethnicity; Hispanic American Students; Hispanic people; Intervention; Mathematics Achievement; Middle School Students; Middle schools; Minority group students; Multiculturalism; Outcomes of Education; Positive Behavior Supports; Predictor Variables; Race; Referral; Risk; School discipline; Secondary Education; Special education; Statistical significance; Student Behavior; Students; STUDIES; Surveys; Teachers; White Students; New York; United States
• ISSN: 0748-8491; 1934-8924; 1934-8924
• DOI: 10.1353/etc.2012.0018

Given documented racial/ethnic disproportionality in disciplinary referrals and strong recommendations to base provision of secondary level supports on data, we explored whether students from various racial/ethnic groups have equitable access to secondary supports. We disaggregated discipline data from 155 elementary and 46 middle schools by student race/ethnicity and behavioral risk level to assess the extent to which different racial/ethnic groups were disproportionately represented among students at each risk level and students receiving secondary support. Outcomes indicated that Hispanic-American and White students were underrepresented among students with multiple disciplinary referrals, while African-American students were overrepresented. African-American students were over-represented among students receiving secondary support in elementary schools but were less likely to receive this support in middle schools. Across all schools, number of referrals as well as race/ethnicity emerged as statistically significant predictors of access to secondary level support. Limitations to the current investigation and recommendations for future research are provided.