1. Racial Disparities in Discipline Practices
Module 2

2. Name Stories Who gave you your name? What is the origin of your name?
What are your nicknames?
What do you preferred to be called?
Ask participants to write for five minutes about what they know about their names. Let them know this will be shared in a small group with their peers. Prompting questions include:
Who gave you your name?
What is the origin of your name?
What are your nicknames?
What do you preferred to be called?
Encourage participants to be creative. They do not need to stick to narrative form and could write a poem, list adjectives, etc.
After 5 minutes, model for the class by sharing your own story.
Break the class into small groups of five or six.
Ask for volunteers to share their stories in the small groups.
When everyone has shared, ask participants how it felt to share their stories. What did you learn?

3. Explain: Today our focus is to understand root causes of racial disparities in discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP)
We’ll watch a quick video and then get into the readings

4. Defining Terms Racial discipline gap School-to-prison pipeline (STPP)
Let’s review some key terms:
Racial disparities in discipline or the “racial discipline gap”: Differences between students of color (especially Black, Latino and Native American youth) and their White counterparts in the number and type of office disciplinary referrals and the severity of disciplinary consequences. In general, Black, Latino and Native American youth tend to be overrepresented in exclusionary practices, where White and Asian youth are underrepresented.
School-to-prison pipeline: The pathway between exclusionary discipline and the criminal justice system.

5. The School-to-Prison Pipeline
Increase in OSS and expulsion rates
Students suspended/expelled more likely to:
Be held back a grade level
Leave school
Become involved in the juvenile justice system
Experience subsequent arrest
Black students punished more harshly, at higher rates for same behavior
Related to overrepresentation of Black and Latino youth in prison system
(Skiba, Arredondo et al., 2014)
Skiba and co-authors (2014) argue that the school-to-prison pipeline is more than a political metaphor, it is a legitimate, scientifically-based phenomenon.
They present findings supporting a causal relationship between exclusionary discipline and negative developmental outcomes.
Through a review of the literature, they document that:
There has been an increase in out-of-school suspension and expulsion rates in recent decades.
Students who are suspended or expelled are more likely to be held back a grade level, leave school, become involved in the juvenile justice system, or experience subsequent arrest.
Black students are being punished more harshly and at a much higher rate than their peers, even for the same behavior
Racial disparities in discipline are related to the overrepresentation of Black and Latino youth in the prison system.

6. STPP in Denver Public Schools (DPS)
Discipline policy reform in 2008
Suspension/expulsion rates decreased by 40%
Continued disproportionality
Racial disparities driven by classroom referrals
(Anyon et al., 2014)
Anyon and colleagues (2014) explore the STPP in Denver Public Schools (DPS).
After a major reform to discipline policy in 2008, rates of suspension and expulsion decreased by 40%, yet Black, Latino and Native American students are still more likely to receive an exclusionary discipline sanction than white students.
Results indicated that these racial disparities persisted in office referrals, suspensions, and law enforcement referrals after accounting for student characteristics like number and type of referrals, being low income, considered seriously emotionally disabled, in special education, a native speaker of English, eligible for the gifted and talented program, or homeless.
The authors also argue that racial disparities are primarily driven by classroom referrals.

7. Proportion of students suspended by race, class and gender in Denver Public Schools: 2008-2012.
(Anyon et al., 2014)

8. Reflection Questions
Have you noticed that students of color are in the discipline office more often than White youth?
Have you seen a connection between schools and the prison system in your work?

9. School-to-Prison Pipeline and Name Stories
Stereotypical race associated with a name influences teachers’ perceptions of behavior infraction
Teachers more likely to recommend that students with stereotypically Black sounding names be suspended
(Okonofua & Eberhardt, 2015)
Explain: So, you might be wondering how the school-to-prison pipeline relate to the opening exercise we did related to names.
In an article you did not read for class today, Okonofua and co-authors (2015) found that the stereotypical race associated with a name significantly influences teachers’ perceptions of a behavior infraction.
All things being equal, teachers were more likely to recommend that students with stereotypically Black sounding names be suspended.

10. Reflection Questions
Why would teachers be more likely to recommend suspension for Black students?
What else do you think drives patterns in suspensions by race?

11. Possible Factors Driving Racial Disparities
Differential behavior
Implicit Bias
Differential selection
Differential processing
Trauma
School Quality
Low Academic Skills
(Gregory et al., 2010)
Explain: Gregory and co-authors (2010) discuss several possible explanations for racial disparities in discipline descisions, some with more empirical support than others. It is also important to note that disparities are likely caused by a combination of these factors:
Differential behavior - Racial differences in misbehavior or conflict do NOT explain disparities in discipline. Even when behavior is taken into account, Black students are still punished more harshly. In other words, even when Black students misbehave in the same way a White student acts out, the Black student is treated more punitively.
Implicit Bias - White students tend to be disciplined for objective behaviors (e.g. smoking, vandalism) whereas Black students disciplined for subjective behaviors (e.g. excessive noise, disrespect), suggesting implicit bias in referrals and administrative decisions are likely a factor. Bias likely plays out at two decision making points in the discipline process:
Differential selection for office disciplinary referrals. Black, Latino and American Indian students are more likely to be sent to the office by teachers than their White peers.
Differential processing for consequences. Once in the office, Black, Latino, and Native American students are more likely than their White counterparts to receive stricter punishments from administrators.
Trauma- Many violence and trauma exposed youth suffer from anxiety, irritability, stress, and hypervigilance. These students may display acts of toughness in the classroom as learned behavior of protection at home/neighborhood.
School Quality - Poor students of color are more likely to attend schools with lower quality resources and facilities, and high teacher turnover where punitive practices are more common.
Low Academic Skills - Students of color are more likely to face repeated academic struggles. Underperforming students may become frustrated and disaffected and have lower self-confidence, all of which may contribute to a higher rate of school disruption. For example, low literacy rates in elementary school have been linked to higher rates of aggression later on.

12. Reflection Questions
What disparities do you see at your school?
What are other groups that may have disproportionate discipline disparities? LGBTQ youth or students with disabilities?

13. The Game of Life (30-45 minutes)
(From the Advancement Project)
Explain: The purpose of this activity is to understand the school-to-prison pipeline from the perspective of several student groups.
Split the class up into 6 groups and assign them a character to play.
Use the facilitator script to guide the teams through The Game of K-12 Life.
Once the game is completed, guide all participants in a discussion about the process, consequences, and outcomes:
Who was your student and what was your outcome?
Did you feel your outcome was fair? Why or why not?
How did you feel about the way your behavior was dealt with by school adults?
Is there a specific instance where you felt your behavior was dealt with well? Is there an instance where you felt your behavior was not dealt with very well?
How did the “Reality Checks” make you feel? Were you aware that those kinds of things were happening in schools? Do you know of other examples?
In what ways was this illustration of the school-to-prison pipeline surprising (or not)?

14. Activity: Digging Into the Data
Digging Into the Data (60 minutes)
Explain: We are now going to investigate to what degree the patterns evident in the game are reflective of what is happening in your schools.
Using your cell phone or laptop computer, you are going to use the website of the Office of Civil Rights Data Collection to identify the nature of racial disparities at a school of your choosing.
Each participant should now complete the “Digging Into Data” Worksheet for a particular group. Give the class about 45 minutes to complete this document.
Ask the group:
By a show of hands, how many of you found evidence of racial disparities in suspensions for Black students? For Latino students? Native American youth? Other student groups?
What trends did you notice in the school climate survey responses?
What other information would have been helpful to you in “diagnosing” whether your school has racial disparities?
How do you think your colleagues at your school would react upon viewing this information? How would they explain the data? Are there any insights from our readings that you could use to respond to these explanations?

15. Key Takeaways
The STPP is a real phenomenon - students who are suspended, expelled or referred to law enforcement are more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system
Racial disparities persist even when accounting for student behavior
Disparities driven by classroom referrals
Racial achievement gaps are related to racial discipline gaps
Explain: In the upcoming weeks we will be discussing ways to intervene and disrupt racial discipline gaps and the school to prison pipeline.
Today, the main takeaways to remember are:
The school-to-prison pipeline is a real phenomenon in our country - students who are suspended, expelled or referred to law enforcement are more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system
Racial disparities in exclusionary discipline practices persist even when accounting for student behavior
Racial disparities are driven by classroom referrals
Racial achievement gaps are related to racial discipline gaps

16. What are other key points from our conversation today?
Final Thoughts
What are other key points from our conversation today?

17. Assignment
Take the “race,” “skin tone,” or “weapons” Implicit Awareness Test (IAT)
Reflect in 1-2 paragraphs on questions or quote from Teaching Tolerance
Review the reading/handout for the next class that summarizes research on how to reduce implicit bias
Pick one strategy that you could implement. What would it look like to implement this at your school? What challenges might you face?
In preparation for our next class, your assignment is to take the “race,” “skin tone,” or “weapons” implicit awareness test ( and, in a few paragraphs, reflect on the following questions and/or respond to the quote from Teaching Tolerance. Please be aware that many people feel guilt and shame after taking the IAT, and it is important to recognize that everyone has bias and it is normal to have it. What you do with the knowledge of the bias is what matters.
Questions:
How did you notice your body reacting as you took the Implicit Awareness Test (IAT)?
Did you find it easier to associate one group or the other with the words “good” and “bad?” How may these perceptions influence thoughts and stories you tell yourself about different students?
Knowing what you now know about your own implicit biases, how will this understanding inform your practice as an educator?
Teaching Tolerance Quote:
“People who argue that prejudice is not a big problem today are, ironically, demonstrating the problem of unconscious prejudice. Because these prejudices are outside our awareness, they can indeed be denied.” (Teaching Tolerance).
After you’ve taken the implicit awareness test, review the reading/handout for the next class that summarizes research on how to reduce implicit bias.
Pick one strategy that you feel you could implement in your work on school discipline. What would it look like to implement this strategy in your school?
Be prepared to discuss the challenges you might face implementing this strategy.