1. 2010 PBIS National Leadership Forum
Bridging – and Closing – the Racial Discipline Gap
through the PBIS Framework
October 15, 2010
Matt Cregor
Assistant Counsel, Education Practice
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Kent Smith
PBIS District Coordinator, WI PBIS Network Trainer
Eau Claire Area School District (WI)
Milaney Leverson
Tier II District External Coach, Trainer in Training

2. What We Do NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund:
Works to promote a more inclusive and racially just democracy by focusing its advocacy toward:
Education
Voting Rights
Economic Justice
Criminal Justice

3. National Projections on Use of Suspensions and Expulsions
School discipline rates are at their all-time highs:
Students are being removed from school at nearly double the rate of the early 1970s
2006 Projections from US Dep’t of Ed.:
3.3 million students suspended at least once each school year.
109,000 students expelled each school year.

4. Suspension & Expulsion beyond the National Numbers
More Suspensions, Expulsions, and Arrests:
In Pennsylvania, the number of school-based arrests almost tripled between and from 4,563 to 12,918.
In Florida, 69% of the state’s 21,289 arrests and referrals in were for misdemeanors
In Chicago, between and the number of out-of-school suspensions quadrupled from 23,942 to 93,312
The increase in long-term (4-10 days) suspensions was even more dramatic from 5,468 to 25,140.
In Texas in , more than 128,000 students were pushed out of school and into alternative schools (called “Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs”)
Slide drawn from Dan Farbman (Advancement Project), “Legislating Tolerance” 2010 Coalition for Juvenile Justice Conference.

5. Harms of Exclusionary Discipline
Out-of-school youth are more likely to:
Drop out of school
Be retained a grade
Engage in delinquent behavior
Become a parenting teen
Become involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems
Health Risk Behaviors among Adolescents Who Do and Do Not Attend School – United States, 1992, 43 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA), Mar. 4, 1994 at 129,

6. Harms of Exclusionary Discipline
Schoolwide effects:
Lower scores on standardized tests
Greater teacher dissatisfaction
No proven gains in safety
Russell Skiba et al., American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force, Are Zero Tolerance Policies Effective in the Schools? An Evidentiary Review and Recommendations (2006),

7. Racial Disproportionality in Discipline
2006 Projections from US Dep’t of Ed.:
African-American students nearly 3 times as likely to be suspended and 3.5 times as likely to be expelled as white peers.
Latino students 1.5 times as likely to be suspended and twice as likely to be expelled as white peers.

8. The Racial Discipline Gap
Slide drawn from Dan Losen (Civil Rights Project), Using Race and Gender Data to Identify Overuse of Discipline and to Effectively Drive Remedies, Civil Rights and School Discipline Conference, Sept

9. Racial Discipline Gap: Middle Schools
Slide drawn from Dan Losen (Civil Rights Project), Using Race and Gender Data to Identify Overuse of Discipline and to Effectively Drive Remedies, Civil Rights and School Discipline Conference, Sept

10. Suspended Education: Middle Schools in Crisis
15 of 18 urban districts (in sample) suspended more than 30% of Black male middle school students.
175 middle schools in the 18 districts suspended more than a third of Black males.
84 middle schools suspended over 50% of black males.
Many schools had rates this high for other racial/gender groups.
Slide drawn from Dan Losen (Civil Rights Project), Using Race and Gender Data to Identify Overuse of Discipline and to Effectively Drive Remedies, Civil Rights and School Discipline Conference, Sept

11. Racial Disproportionality in Discipline
Common Justifications:
It’s not race; it’s poverty.
These are students from more challenging communities.
These are students in under-resourced schools with big class sizes.
This is a result of negative peer culture.

12. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems
Race is not Neutral: Disproportionality in School Discipline Russell Skiba, Robert H. Horner, Choong-Geun Chung Karega Rausch, , Seth L. May, and Tary Tobin
In press: Journal of School Psychology
Analysis of office discipline referral data from the school-wide information system
436 elementary and middle schools
205,932 students who received office discipline referrals
Referrals organized by student ethnicity, type of problem behavior, and administrative decision.

13. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems
First Finding: Students from Hispanic/Latino and African American backgrounds were more likely to be sent to the office than their white peers.

14. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
Hispanic/Latino
.79
1.70
African American
2.19
3.78

16. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems
First Finding: Students from Hispanic/Latino and African American backgrounds were more likely to be sent to the office than their white peers.
Second Finding: If students from Hispanic/Latino or African American backgrounds were sent to the office, they were more likely than white students to receive a consequence that resulted in their being removed from school (suspension/expulsion)

17. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems

18. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems

19. Two levels of disproportionality in discipline systems

20. Subjective vs. Objective Offenses
White students more often referred for:
Smoking
Vandalism
Leaving without permission
Obscene language
African-American students more often referred for:
Disrespect
Excessive noise
Threat
Loitering

21. A Web of Issues Stereotyping & unconscious bias Cultural disconnect
Misperceived actions on the part of both students and educators
Lack of proper professional development in culturally responsive teaching, de-escalation, etc.

22. We still can’t talk about race.

23. How Do We Create Change? Look at the data Make meaning of the data
Develop an intervention
Evaluate

24. Preliminary Evidence: When PBIS is linked to reduction in ODRs does reduction occur for students from all ethnic groups?
From: Vincent, Cartlidge, May, & Tobin, 2009.

25. Preliminary Evidence: When PBIS is linked to reduction in ODRs does reduction occur for students from all ethnic groups?
From: Vincent, Cartlidge, May, & Tobin, 2009.

26. Preliminary Evidence: When PBIS is linked to reduction in ODRs does reduction occur for students from all ethnic groups?
From: Eber et al., 2010 PBIS annual report

27. How Do We Create Change? Look at the data Make meaning of the data
Develop an intervention
Evaluate

28. Alton Middle School, Alton, IL
Proven & Promising Approaches: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Alton Middle School, Alton, IL
Two schools merged to form 3rd largest IL school in 2006
Twenty students expelled in first year
Since implementing PBIS:
Office disciplinary referrals down 32%
Out-of-school suspension down 26%
“Racial discipline gap” is shrinking
Scores improve & achievement gap narrows

29. PBIS at Chee-Dodge Elementary
Yahtahey, NM; 99% Dine
Elements of program
Made Dine language a central part of PBS
PAWS: Developed culturally competent lessons
Results
80% of surveyed students knew expectations
High score on Self-Assessment Form
0.12 ODR’s per day per 100 students (3rd lowest in NM)--less than half national mean rate

30. Reducing Disproportionate Representation within PBIS Framework
Kent Smith
PBIS District Coordinator, WI PBIS Network Trainer
Eau Claire Area School District (WI)
Milaney Leverson
Tier II District External Coach, Trainer in Training

31. Eau Claire Area School District Background
Enrollment of approximately 10,500 students; 1500 staff (full and part time)
92% white
38% economically disadvantaged
Identified in 2006 as Significantly Disproportionate in Special Education
Black boys in EBD
Native American and Hispanic in SLD
Boys for behavior in EC4T

32. Band-aid or System Change
We had a choice…
Band-aid or System Change

33. System Change
Contracted with Pacific Education Group to advise and train in Beyond Diversity and Culturally Relevant Teaching
Administration
School psychologists
Social workers
Coalition of the willing
Partnership with UW-Eau Claire Coalition of the Committed
The Consortium on Racial Equity in PK–12 Education in Wisconsin

34. System Change
CREATE: Culturally Responsive Education for All Training and Enhancement
formed by Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction
Common language of Courageous Conversations adopted
Book studies and independent learning by student services staff
Cultural Mismatch Checklist at Initial and Re-evaluations for special education

35. Four Agreements and Six Conditions
Stay Engaged
Experience Discomfort
Speak YOUR Truth
Expect and Accept Non-closure
Six Conditions
Keep positions personal/local/immediate
Isolate Race in the discussion
Encourage multiple racial perspectives/social constructs
Establish Parameter/Courageous Conversations Compass
Have a working definition of race
Focus on the Role and Presence of Whiteness

37. Post Secondary Readiness
Budget based on Post Secondary Readiness for ALL STUDENTS
Development of Social Emotional Learning Standards ready to “roll out” in November of 2010
Focus on EQUITY

38. Framework Specific to PBIS
District framework applied to PBIS framework from beginning

39. Non-Negotiables
Required completion of Beyond Diversity (BD) and Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT)
Principals
External Coaches
Internal Coaches
District Leadership Team Members
Required completion of BD and encouragement of CRT
All PBIS Team Members

40. System Checkpoints Expectation Matrix
reviewed annually by District PBIS team and CRT consultants for cultural relevance

41. Cultural Mismatch Checklist
required part of nomination process for Tier II intervention
reviewed at monthly team meetings to monitor systems and degree of mismatch

42. Parent/Teacher/Self Nomination
initial and progress monitoring data points generated using social/emotional screening tools (selected due to low cultural bias)

43. Data Sets
external coach and district coordinator review “big 5” data sets and race data every trimester

44. What does it look like? Assume nothing, teach everything
Encourage counter story and student voice
Acknowledge and discuss the role of whiteness and race in current practice
Use of data to evaluate systems and practice regarding disproportionate representation
Make race and data consideration part of “business as usual”

45. Current vs. Past Data Pilot Building

48. Reducing Disproportionate Discipline through the PBIS Framework
2010 PBIS Leadership Forum
Reducing Disproportionate Discipline through the PBIS Framework
Resources:
Matt Cregor
Milaney Leverson
Kent Smith