Study Finds Black School Students With Disabilities Are More Likely to Be Suspended or Expelled

A new study led by Dorothy E. Hines, an assistant professor of African and African-American studies at the University of Kansas, has found that Black students with and without disabilities are significantly more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their peers.

The researchers found that Black girls with disabilities had the highest rate of overrepresentation in-school suspension and out-of-school suspension. Black boys experienced a greater representation in in-school suspension. Regardless of geographic area, Black girls and Black boys were more likely to receive disciplinary punishments than their fellow students.

The authors offer recommendations for how educators and schools can deal with the overrepresentation of Black students with and without disabilities in inequitable disciplinary punishments. These include instituting equitable punishments, processes, and outcomes that account for the permanence of anti-Black racism and White privilege in schools; eliminating teacher and educator racial biases; addressing gaps in in-service teacher preparation and in continuing education credits; recruiting and retaining more teachers, administrators, and staff of color; and disaggregating data by race and gender for students with and without disabilities to understand the magnitude of discipline for each and for tailoring prevention and intervention efforts.

Dr. Hines holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University, and a Ph.D. in education policy from Michigan State University.

The full study, “Black Students in Handcuffs: Addressing Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline for Students With Dis/abilities,” was published in Teachers College Record. It may be accessed here.

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Four African American Women Named to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

Taking on new roles relating to diversity are Jamila Lee-Johnson for the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Sheryl R. Wilson at Bethel College in Kansas, Dionne Lambert at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, and Markeisha Miner at the University of Rhode Island.

Higher Education Grants or Gifts of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

American Students Studying Abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the 2021-22 academic year, there were 4,614 American students who studied at universities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is about one tenth of the number of students from sub-Saharan Africa studying at U.S. universities.

Marcus L. Thompson Named the Thirteenth President of Jackson State University

Dr. Thompson has more than 20 years of leadership experience in early childhood, K-12 education, and higher education. He has been serving as the deputy commissioner and chief administrative officer of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, where for over a decade he has been responsible for overseeing IHL staff.

Featured Jobs