Schools discipline Black girls more frequently and severely than their white peers鈥攅ven for similar incidents, according to a federal
Black girls are subjected to higher rates of exclusionary discipline鈥攄etention, suspension, and expulsion鈥攖han other students of color and white peers, and the largest gaps in discipline rates are between Black and white girls, according to the Government Accountability Office鈥檚 recent report, which examined the discipline disparities among girls in public schools.
Students of color鈥攁nd those with disabilities鈥攖end to face higher rates of exclusionary discipline practices in schools, and they鈥檙e more likely to be arrested if police officers are on campus. Attempts to address the disparities have occurred at the federal level, as researchers have said that punitive discipline can negatively impact school experience, graduation rates, and the likelihood of ending up in the criminal justice system. But, advocates say, the impact of disproportionality on girls has largely been understudied.
GAO researchers looked at data on infractions from the 2017-18 school year from 36 states, and saw that, even when accounting for the behavior that prompted discipline, Black girls were punished more frequently and more harshly than any other girls, said Jackie Nowicki, the director in GAO鈥檚 education, workforce, and income security team.
鈥淲e have known for a long time that there have been discipline disparities, but never before have we been able to factor in the behavior that prompted the discipline,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that girls are behaving differently, it鈥檚 not that some girls are attending schools that just have higher discipline rates in general. We are seeing these differences within schools.鈥�
Black girls face more severe punishment for anything from disobedience to breaking school rules.
The more severe and frequent punishments have eroded school culture for Black girls, in turn. They are more likely than their peers to say they don鈥檛 feel safe in schools, were more likely to say they feared being attacked, and disagreed that school handled discipline fairly, the report found.
The GAO examined students鈥� perception of safety and belonging by analyzing nationally representative survey data from the 2017, 2019, and 2022 National Crime Victimization Surveys. This spring, the GAO also collected perspectives from 31 women, ages 18 to 24, on their experiences with school discipline, although that information is not generalizable.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e girls, they鈥檙e Black, so they have a lot that they are fighting when they鈥檙e just trying to be teenagers,鈥� said Renita Brooks, a school counselor at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, who has studied discipline for Black girls. 鈥淧eople feel like Black girl strength is inherently impermeable. And that鈥檚 not true. They see them as rock hard, but they are the ones who are actually more vulnerable because they have a lot more on their plate.鈥�
Black girls face more frequent and severe disciplinary action compared to white girls
Black girls are suspended up to five times the rate that white girls are, the report found. Though Black girls made up only 15 percent of girls enrolled in public schools in 2017-18, they received almost half of the exclusionary discipline actions, the report says. That included 45 percent of out-of-school suspensions, 37 percent of in-school suspensions, and 43 percent of expulsions.
Black girls with disabilities were suspended out of school at 1.7 times the rate of Black girls without disabilities, and 3.6 times the rate of white girls with disabilities. Though other research has found that, within racial groups, students with disabilities are disproportionately disciplined through exclusionary practices, that isn鈥檛 always the case. According to the report, Black girls鈥攁nd sometimes, American Indian/Alaska Native girls鈥攚ithout disabilities experienced higher rates of discipline than girls with disabilities of other races.
GAO鈥檚 review of research identified adultification鈥攖he perception that Black girls are older and more 鈥減romiscuous鈥� than their peers鈥攁nd colorism鈥攂ias against those with darker skin鈥攁s two factors contributing to why schools discipline Black girls more frequently and more severely.
Other girls of color鈥擜merican Indian/Alaska Native girls, multiracial girls, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander girls鈥攚ere disciplined disproportionately in some categories, but none as much as Black girls, according to the report.
鈥淭hese kids are dropping out of school when they start having these higher exclusionary consequences,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淚t just gets harder and harder to get back on track academically, and then they just kind of give up.鈥�
For 鈥渕ajor infractions鈥濃�攚hen students are sent to an administrator鈥攔oughly 42 percent of Black girls are estimated to receive exclusionary discipline in response, compared to an estimated 32 percent of white girls, for the same behavior. Black girls are more likely to receive in- and out-of-school suspension for the same behavior.
For minor infractions鈥攖hose behaviors managed by educators in the classroom鈥攁n estimated 16 percent of Black girls will see exclusionary discipline, compared to 9 percent of white girls, the report says.
The disproportionality holds true for subjective versus objective infractions, the GAO found. Subjective infractions鈥攖hings like disobedience or disruptions, which are up to individual educators鈥� discretion鈥攕aw disciplinary referrals for 18 percent of Black girls and 16 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native, compared to just 9 percent of white girls.
In the case of objective infractions鈥攕omething based on defined criteria, like property damage, or a technology violation鈥�16 percent of Black girls and 21 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native girls would get disciplinary referrals, compared to only 7 percent of white girls. Additionally, schools used exclusionary discipline practices for 41 percent of Black girls for incidents of this type of rule-breaking, compared to 30 percent of white girls.
It鈥檚 a longstanding problem, said Bryan Joffee, the director of children鈥檚 programs for AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
While students of color and white students misbehave at the same rate in areas of 鈥渕andatory disciplines鈥� (things like alcohol and drug use or weapons offenses), when it comes to 鈥渄iscretionary discipline鈥� (matters having to do with misbehavior, attitude, or defiance), disproportionality becomes more of a problem.
鈥淥ne thing that schools and districts are doing, and can do, is to continue to clean up the language in their codes of conduct and be really clear and have really strong guidelines about what disciplinary behaviors merit which disciplinary actions to make sure they鈥檙e applying everything fairly across the board,鈥� Joffee said. 鈥淕etting rid of words like defiance, I think, is an important step, because studies have shown that adults tend to find Black students to be more defiant for whatever reasons.鈥�
But there is also a need for school discipline reform, he said. Out-of-school suspension is a 鈥渂reak-glass-in-case-of-emergency disciplinary measure,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not particularly effective.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we see a lot of the disproportionality show up and so students are missing out on academic time, falling behind, which in turn leads them to be more disconnected from school and potentially more likely to act out when they return,鈥� Joffee said. 鈥淩eally thinking about when and how you want to use out-of-school suspension, rather than some other levers in your toolbox, I think, is an important thing for school administrators to look at as well.鈥�
Brooks recalled an incident where she pushed back on an administrator鈥檚 attempt to do 鈥渄ouble jeopardy.鈥� A student had already been disciplined鈥攖hey were restricted from participating in an extracurricular activity鈥攁nd when they came to school the next day, an administrator sought to suspend them for three days as well.
鈥淚 talked about the data at the district level, what was going on鈥攅ncouraging her to find another way to just help support the student,鈥� she said.
Black girls feel less safe, and less connected to school, than their peers
Youth are, across the board, struggling with mental health and well-being鈥攊ncluding experiences of violence and substance use. Girls are still faring worse than boys in indicators on well-being, and
And increasingly, girls, particularly Black girls, are left to feel more unsafe in school as they are being increasingly treated and disciplined differently, according to the GAO report.
A higher percentage of Black girls felt unsafe compared to white girls across various measures of school safety, the report said, with Black girls reporting they were afraid of being attacked by someone at school at a higher percentage than white girls. Black girls also disagreed at a higher rate than girls of other races that school rules were fair, and that teachers treated them with respect.
And that comes down to clothing and even demonstrating femininity. Black girls are more likely to say that dress code policies were not fair and singled them out for punishment. Plus, girls鈥攍argely Black girls鈥攁re subject to gender biases and stereotypes, and are punished for not conforming to expectations of femininity, the report says.
鈥淥fficials representing school counselors and psychologists noted that many teachers encourage girls to uphold a quiet and docile form of femininity or 鈥榯o act like ladies,鈥欌�� the report states.
