Exclusionary Discipline Practices Across Students' Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds and Disability Status: Findings from the Pacific Northwest

We examined 2009-2010 data on exclusionary discipline practices from one state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States across students' racial/ethnic backgrounds and disability status. Our focus was on proportionate representation in exclusionary discipline actions and in the duration of those disciplinary actions. Descriptive outcomes indicated that among students with disability American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students were over-represented in removal to alternative education. Among students without a disability, Hispanic students were most notably over-represented in all exclusionary discipline practices. African-American students with and without disability lost approximately twice as many days as White students to exclusionary discipline. Follow-up Chi-Square tests showed that non-White students were statistically significantly over-represented in most exclusionary practices. ANOVA results indicated that both disability status and race significantly impacted the duration of exclusions. Recommendations for future research are provided.