Racial Disproportionalities in Discipline: The Role of Zero Tolerance Policies
Student safety represents an important goal for schools; however, policies designed to facilitate school safety may have unintended negative consequences. Zero tolerance policies, those that mandate severe punitive measures, have been widely implemented by school leaders over the last several decades; however, recent research suggests that such policies may contribute to racial disparities in the use of discipline. This chapter reviews the history of zero tolerance policies in schools and, through descriptive analysis of data from the Civil Rights Data Collection of 2011 2012, documents racial disparities in the use of expulsions. Findings suggest that while zero tolerance policies may contribute to such disparities, the racial disparities are more pronounced for non zero tolerance expulsions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.