Disparities in Discipline Practices

Out-of-School Suspensions and Expulsions

In 2019–20, the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) asked public school principals to report the number of disciplinary actions their schools had taken against students.²¹ Serious disciplinary actions include out-of-school suspensions lasting 5 or more days, removals with no services for the remainder of the school year, and transfers to alternative schools. This indicator examines differences in the percentages of schools that took such actions based on various school characteristics.

• The percentage of public schools that took at least one serious disciplinary action was higher for schools in cities (39 percent) than for schools in suburban areas (34 percent) and rural areas (33 percent).
• The percentage of public schools that took at least one serious disciplinary action was higher for those where 76 percent or more of the students were students of color²² (40 percent) than for those where 25 percent or less of the students were students of color (31 percent).
• Additionally, this percentage was lowest for schools where 25 percent or less of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) (25 percent). The percentage reported by schools with other percentages of eligible students ranged from 37 to 38 percent.²³

Figure 4. Percentage of public schools that took a serious disciplinary action, by selected school characteristics: School year 2019–20

¹ Schools that took serious disciplinary actions in response to more than one type of offense were counted only once in the total.

² The term “students of color” is being used synonymously with “minority students” in the reference table. Students of color include those who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and of Two or more races.

NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school. Serious disciplinary actions include out-of-school suspensions lasting 5 or more days, but less than the remainder of the school year; removals with no continuing services for at least the remainder of the school year; and transfers to alternative schools for disciplinary reasons. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2019–20 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2020. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 233.12.

Findings in this indicator come from Serious Disciplinary Actions Taken by Public Schools in the Condition of Education. For more data on differences in school disciplinary actions, teacher training in specific safety and discipline topics, including differences by sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status, see tables 233.12, 223.20, 233.28, 233.67b from the Digest of Education Statistics 2020 and 2021.