DIFFERENCES IN EXCLUSIONARY DISCIPLINE CONSEQUENCES FOR GRADES 4 AND 5 GIRLS: A TEXAS MULTIYEAR STATEWIDE INVESTIGATION

Purpose The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which ethnicity/race and economic status are related to the assignment of exclusionary discipline consequences and to the number of days assigned to exclusionary discipline consequences to Grades 4 and 5 girls. In the first study, the extent to which differences were present in the frequency and number of days that Grades 4 and 5 girls were assigned to an in-school suspension with respect to their ethnicity/race were investigated. In the second study, the degree to which differences were present in the frequency and number of days that Grades 4 and 5 girls were assigned to an out-of-school suspension with respect to their ethnicity/race were addressed. In the third study, the extent to which differences were present in the frequency and number of days that Grades 4 and 5 girls were assigned to an in-school suspension with respect to their economic status were determined. As such, the extent to which trends are present in the assignment and number of days students were assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence by their ethnicity/race and economic status for Texas Grades 4 and 5 girls for the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 school years were determined.

Method In this analysis, a causal-comparative research design was used. Archival data were obtained from the Texas Education Agency through a Public Information Request for the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 school years.

Findings For Grades 4 and 5 girls, relationships were clearly established between the frequency and number of days assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence and their ethnicity/race and economic status. For both grade levels, Black and Hispanic girls were consistently overrepresented in the assignment and number of days assigned to an in-school suspension and to an out-of-school suspension. Similar trends were present for girls who were economically disadvantaged. Such inequities in the assignment to exclusionary discipline consequences, as well as disparities in the numbers of days assigned, may be interpreted as violations of these girls’ civils rights to a free and appropriate education. Action to address such inequities is imperative and long overdue.