Repeated Suspensions Predict Later Involvement in Juvenile Justice System

The Council of State Government Justice Center, in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University, has released a statewide study of nearly 1 million Texas public secondary school students, followed for at least six years. The findings are interesting and its hoped that the information disclosed will assist policymakers and practitioners. A few findings are listed below:

1. The majority of students in the public school system (59.6%) experienced
   some form of suspension or expulsion in middle or high school.
   


2. African-American students were more likely than students of other races
   to be disciplined during their seventh- to twelfth-grade school years.
   


3. Nearly three out of four students who qualified for special education
   services during the study period were suspended or expelled at least
   once between their seventh- and twelfth-grade school years. The level of
   disciplinary involvement by these students, however, varied significantly
   according to the specific type of educational disability they had.85
   


4. Students who experienced suspension or expulsion, especially those who
   did so repeatedly, were more likely to be held back a grade or drop out of
   school than students who were not involved in the disciplinary system.
   
   


5. More than one in seven students were in contact with the juvenile
   justice system between seventh and twelfth grade. Students who were
   suspended or expelled had a greater likelihood of contact with the
   juvenile justice system in their middle or high school years, particularly
   when they were disciplined multiple times.
   


6. Schools that had similar student populations and were alike in other
   important regards varied signficantly in how often they suspended or
   expelled pupils.
   

To read the full report click here.