Framing the Challenge: Research on Disciplinary Disproportionality and the Need for Equity- Explicit Intervention Russ Skiba The Equity Project at Indiana University Gerald Williams African American Male Achievement Project, OUSD 2013 PBIS National Leadership Forum Rosemont, ILOctober 10, 2013

Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative  Expanding research/practice/advocacy for reducing disciplinary disparities Quarterly Meetings: Publication of Findings, Spring 2014 National Closing the Discipline Gap Conference Commissioning new research

What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities  Disparities in school exclusion are enduring and expanding

Other Groups at Risk  Increased risk for: Latino students: May increase over time Students with disabilities (Losen & Gillespie, 2012) Gender: Both male & female (Toldson et al., 2013; Wallace et al., 2008)  Emerging data that LGBT students also at risk Over half at risk for exclusion (Snapp & Russell, 2013) About 50% more likely to be stopped by police (Himmelstein & Bruckner, 2011)

What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities  Consistent and severe for African Americans Latino less consistent  Not due to: SES More severe behavior

Can Poverty Explain Disproportionality?  Rates of discipline are related to SES SES and suspension/expulsion are correlated, but... Effects of race remain after control

Do Black Students Misbehave More?  White students referred more for: Smoking Vandalism Leaving w/o permission Obscene Language  Black students referred more for: Disrespect Excessive Noise Threat Loitering Of 32 infractions, only 8 significant differences: Skiba, R.J., Michael, R.S., Nardo, A.C. & Peterson, R. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. Urban Review, 34,

What Else Predicts Disproportionality?  Higher rates of students of color (Racial Threat Hypothesis)  Diversity of staff (Representative Bureacracy)  Classroom Contributions Classroom management Cultural mismatch/implicit bias  Office Contributions

Harsher Penalties for the Same Infraction  Same punishment, different behaviors (Finn & Servoss, 2013) Black students: 1.8X odds of exclusion Hispanic: 1.64 x odds of exclusion  Contributions at office level independent of classroom referral Black/Latino increased odds of suspension for minor misbehavior (Skiba et al, 2011) Controlling for type of behavior, black students significantly more likely to receive OSS, expulsion (Skiba et al, 2013)

What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities  Consistent and severe for African Americans Latino less consistent  Not due to: SES More severe behavior  Yields increased risk

Is The School-to-Prison Pipeline Real? Pathways from Schools to Juvenile Justice School Exclusion Juvenile Justice/Delin quency Engagement / Lost educ. opportunity School Climate Dropout

More Than a Metaphor… School Climate: Schools w/ harsh discipline policies, higher OSS rates ≈ perceived less safe (Steinberg, et al., 2011) School Engagement/Ed. Opportunity: For African American males, more suspensions predict lower achievement and school engagement (Davis & Jordan, 1994) School Dropout: Suspended/expelled students 5 times as likely to drop out (CSG, 2011) Black males 2x more likely to dropout for discipline (Stearns & Glennie, 2006) Juvenile Delinquency/JJ Involvement OSS increases risk of antisocial behavior (Hemphill et al., 2006) Greater contact with Juv. Justice System (CSG, 2011)

The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Pathways from Schools to Juvenile Justice School Exclusion Juvenile Justice/Delin quency Engagement / Lost educ. opportunity School Climate Dropout

What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities  Consistent and severe for African Americans Latino less consistent  Confounds our expectations  Not due entirely to: SES More severe behavior  Yields increased risk  Schools make a difference

Contributions of Schools  Principal perspective on discipline contributes to racial disparities in suspension (Skiba et al, 2013)  Schools w/ high structure/high support have fewer suspensions/disparities (Gregory et al. 2011)  Chicago: Among schools with similar demographics, more suspensions = lower feelings of safety (Steinberg, Allen & Johnson, 2013) Relationships more important than crime, poverty in predicting safety

What Should We Do to Intervene? Emerging Research  Develop relationships My Teaching Partner Restorative Practices  Building Emotional Literacy Cleveland Metro School District: SEL, student support teams, and student-centered approach  Restructuring Disciplinary Practices Va. Threat Assessment Codes of Conduct SWPBIS

PBIS Implementation and Disproportionality: Decidedly Mixed  Skiba, Horner, et al African American and Latino students more likely to be disciplined for minor infractions  Vincent et al. 2011, Vincent & Tobin, 2012 No reduction in disparities for Afr. Amer. students Suspensions decreased in higher implementing schools, but even there, no reductions in disparities for Afr. Amer. students  Vincent, Sprague & Gau (2013) Some reduction in OSS rates for Hispanic, AI/AN students, but not for African American students  Case study successes Canadian study (Greflund, MacIntosh, et al, 2013) Case studies in literature (e.g., Jones et al, Chee-Dodge Elem.) Garfield Middle School

Mixed Results in Practice

PBIS Indiana: Building a Statewide CR-PBIS Network  Working to increase awareness of, and institutional supports for: Reflective consideration of school contributions to cultural issues in school discipline, so that PBIS may be used to develop more effective behavioral and disciplinary processes relating to culture and disproportionality.  Activities: Development of six model sites Work with out-of-compliance schools Scaleup of CRPBIS training throughout state

PBIS Indiana: Elements of CR-PBIS  Awareness Building: Discussions about race and culture are avoided Begin with activities to increase comfort in addressing disparities.  Data Disaggregation: Not sufficient to measure overall ODRs and suspension/expulsion. Disaggregate data by race, SES, disability, or any other group showing disparities.  Data Interpretation: Deficit explanations (e.g., family poverty) are common in explaining disparities. Teams are encouraged to think reflectively about possible school contributions.  Culturally responsive practices: Examination of data leads to examination of practices and the development of new programs to address disparities.

Tough to Talk About… “When you say minorities, are you, what are you speaking of?...[INTERVIEWER: Ethnic and racial minorities]...Oh....OK...Alright...We have like...I guess we have about half and half. I don’t know that I’ve ever really paid attention to it.” --Classroom Teacher

“Color-Blindness” “I don’t see the color as being the issue. I think that a lot of the issues that they come with perhaps come from the fact that they are in a Black situation over here, where these kinds of attitudes are constant all the time.” -- (McKenzie & Scheurich, 2004)

Microaggressions Today “I play football, so you know they expect you to be good in sports. But when you are on the ASB (Associated Student Body) council, like I am, and being a school leader, have good grades, and talking about going to college on an academic scholarship, then they look at you like Whoa!! I didn’t think that they (Black males) were into those kind of things. One teacher even told me once, ‘You’re not like the rest of them.’ I didn’t ask her what that meant, but believe me, I knew what that meant.” --(Howard, 2007, p. 907)

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” -- James A. Baldwin

CR-PBIS Faultlines: Tier 1  Establishing (and rewarding) schoolwide expectations Respect, responsibility, safe, excellence…  But… Is respect culturally neutral? Why is defiance the main source of dispro?  Solutions? Self-reflection Mentoring?

CR-PBIS Faultlines: Tier 2  Re-connect at-risk youth, reduce current misbehavior Check-in, check-out  But… “Why are all the kids in Tier 2 & 3 Black or Brown?”  Solutions? Disaggregate our data Why are some teachers more successful?

CR-PBIS Faultlines: Tier 3  Address students with challenging behavior Support schools, expand resources (e.g. school-based wraparound)  But… Does Tier 3 “hijack” the conversation?  Solutions? Examine historical conditioning As in all PBIS implementation, disproportionality starts with Tier 1

Overcoming Our History  State sponsored discrimination: 355 years  Since its end: 40 years  Why would we assume there would not be culturally influenced practices in our educational systems?  PBIS is about changing adult behavior

Russ Skiba Director, Equity Project Center for Evaluation and Education Policy 1900 E. 10th St. Bloomington, IN Website: Gerald Williams Research Associate, Disproportionality Department of Quality, Accountability& Analytics 4551 Steele Street Oakland, CA ousd.k12.ca.us