THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION AND LATER SCHOOL SANCTIONS: DIFFERENCES BY STUDENT RACE AND SCHOOL RACIAL COMPOSITION

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between early childhood suspension or expulsion and students’ odds of experiencing exclusionary discipline in adolescence. In particular, the study examines whether the relationship between childhood suspension and expulsion and the likelihood of experiencing exclusionary discipline in adolescence differs by the combination of student race and school racial composition. While labeling theory can speak to the role of individual student characteristics such as race in the labeling process, the theory is limited in that it says little about the role of social context. This study examines the impact of one aspect of school context, school racial composition, on the relationship between childhood and adolescent experiences of exclusionary discipline, drawing on insights from racial threat theory. The study uses data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a prospective longitudinal study of youth born in large US cities between 1998 and 2000. Main findings include a positive relationship between childhood and adolescent experiences of exclusionary discipline, an independent effect of student race on year 15 suspension risk, and heightened risk for Black, previously-suspended youth in majority-minority school settings. Implications for labeling theory in context and surveillance of youth are discussed.