Black Girls and School Discipline: A QuantCrit Examination of Discipline Policy,Racialized Female Discipline,and Academic Outcomes

Abstract

This QuantCrit study examined Black girls’ discipline related to similarly situated others. We also examined the relationship between discipline and academic outcomes and race and gender as predictors of discipline. Our analyses included a Pearson correlation and a negative binomial multiple regression: finding that Black girls’ reflect an alarmingly disproportional amount of school discipline in frequency and severity, primarily for subjective offenses. Further, a significant association exists between racialized discipline and academics. Finally, we produced a predictive model of race, discipline frequency, and severity. With diversification, discipline policy implementation and academic outcomes must be vigilantly monitored for discrimination and harm.

Keywords

Black girls implicit bias negative binomial regression academic achievement urban education minority academic success Black females race identity discipline policies discipline disparities QuantCrit

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alba

Beck

Basara Sahin

(2018). The rise of mixed parentage: A sociological and demographic phenomenon to be reckoned with. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 677(1), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0002716218757656

Allman

K. L.

Slate

J. R.

(2011). School discipline in public education: A brief review of current practices. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 6(2), 1–8. n2. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916646610

Annamma

S. A.

Anyon

Joseph

N. M.

Farrar

Greer

Downing

Simmons

(2016). Black girls and school discipline: The complexities of being overrepresented and understudied. Urban Education, 54(2), 211–242. https://doi.org/0042085916646610

Atkin

A. L.

Christophe

N. K.

Williams

C. D.

Richard

M. L.

Gabriela

L. S.

Yoo Hyung Chol Gabriel Abigail

Wu Christine

A. C.

(2023). Investigating how parental support varies across racially diverse mothers and fathers in relation to emerging adults’ multiracial experiences and psychological distress. Race and Social Problems, 15(1), 19–31. LOVING Study Collaborative. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-023-09386-7

Banaji

M. R.

Greenwald

A. G.

(2016). Blindspot: Hidden biases of good people . Bantam .

Beard

K. S.

(2019). Getting on track: Aligning the achievement gap conversation with ethical educational practice. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 22(1), 30–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1503821

Beard

K. S.

(2019). Teaching and leading while Black: Centering the lived experiences of African American educators in P–12 schools. Urban Education, 54(1), 39–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1503821

Beard

K. S.

(2025). When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? An introduction to time for change. Education and Urban Society, 57(2), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131245221107230

Beard

K. S.

Shortt

Xie

(2025). The emergence and escalation of online racial discrimination in digital spaces: A systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 95(1), 89–122. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543231217459

10.

Beard

K. S.

Vakil

J. B.

Chao

Hilty

C. D.

(2023). Time for change: Understanding teacher social-emotional learning supports for anti-racism and student well-being during COVID-19, and beyond. Education and Urban Society, 55(7), 825–843. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131245211062527

11.

Bell

D. A.

(1980). Brown v. Board of education and the interest-convergence dilemma. Harvard Law Review, 93(3), 518–533. https://doi.org/10.2307/1340546

12.

Bettens

(2024). The risks and consequences of innocence in school discipline: Implications for policy and research. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 30(3) 260–272. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000423

13.

Bryan

Day-Vines

N. L.

Griffin

Moore-Thomas

(2012). The disproportionality dilemma: Patterns of teacher referrals to school counselors for disruptive behavior. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90(2), 177–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-6676.2012.00023.x

14.

Civil Rights Documentation & Research Project . (2018). Racial disparities in school discipline and the impact of zero-tolerance policies. https://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/education/School-Discipline-Policy-Brief.pdf?

15.

Civil Rights Documentation & Research Project . (2024, April 20). Resource equity provisions in the Every student succeeds act. https://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/education/ESSA-Resource-Equity-Fact-Sheet.pdf

16.

Collins

P. H.

(1986). Learning from the outsider within: The sociological significance of Black feminist thought. Social Problems, 33(6), s14–s32. https://doi.org/10.2307/800672

17.

Collins

P. H.

(2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). Routledge.

18.

Crenshaw

(1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. In University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1(8), 139–167.

19.

Crenshaw

(1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

20.

Csizmadia

Atkin

A. L.

(2022). Supporting children and youth in multiracial families in the United States: Racial-ethnic socialization and familial support of multiracial experiences. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 31(3), 664–674. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02265-6

21.

Cruz

R. A.

Firestone

A. R.

(2024). On reducing disparities in office discipline referrals: A systematic review of underlying theories. Whiteness and Education, 9(1), 82–104.

22.

Delgado

(1991). Affirmative action as a majoritarian device: Or do you really want to be a role model? Michigan Law Review, 89, 1222–1231. https://doi.org/10.2307/1289552

23.

Delgado

(1991). Critical race theory: The cutting edge. Temple University Press.

24.

Delgado

Stefancic

(2017). Critical race theory: An introduction (3rd ed.). NYU Press.

25.

Education Partnership Incorporated . (2004). Research brief: Zero tolerance policies.https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED539008.pdf

26.

Epstein

Blake

Gonzalez

(2017). Girlhood interrupted: The erasure of Black girls’ childhood. Center on Poverty and Inequality. https://www.blendedandblack.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/girlhood-interrupted.pdf

27.

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015)

28.

Fowler

F. C.

(2012). Policy studies for educational leaders: An introduction. Pearson Higher Ed.

29.

Gershoff

E. T.

Font

S. A.

(2016). Corporal punishment in US public schools: Prevalence, disparities in use, and status in state and federal policy. Social policy report, 30.

30.

Gillborn

Warmington

Demack

(2018). Quantcrit: Education, policy, ‘big data’ and principles for a Critical Race Theory of statistics. Race Ethnicity and Education, 21(2), 158–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1377417

31.

Good

T. L.

Brophy

J. E.

(2008). Looking in classrooms (10th ed., pp. 47–70). Allyn Bacon.

32.

Green

M. N.

Bryant

(2023). Racially humble parenting: Exploring the link between parental racial humility and parent–child closeness in multiracial Black-White families. Race and Social Problems, 15(1), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-023-09388-5

33.

Greenwald

A. G.

Banaji

M. R.

Rudman

L. A.

Farnham

S. D.

Nosek

B. A.

Mellott

D. S.

(2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychological Review, 109(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.109.1.3

34.

Greenwald

A. G.

Krieger

L. H.

(2006). Implicit bias: Scientific foundations. California Law Review, 94(4), 945–967. https://doi.org/10.2307/20439056

35.

Gun-Free Schools Act . (1994). [20 U.S.C. 8921].

36.

Harris

C. I.

(1993). Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review, 106, 1707–1791. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341787

37.

Harrison

(2017). Redefining intersectionality theory through the lens of African American young adolescent girls’ racialized experiences. Youth & Society, 49(8), 1023–1039. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X15569216

38.

Henson

(2012). Issues of crime and school safety: Zero tolerance policies and children with disabilities. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2454.Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977).

39.

Hooks

(1984). Feminist theory: From margin to center. South End Press.

40.

Insley

A. C.

(2001). Suspending and expelling children from educational opportunity: Time to reevaluate zero tolerance policies. Am. UL Rev., 50, Article 1039.

41.

Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977)

42.

Jackson

K. F.

Samuels

G. M.

(2011). Multiracial competence in social work: Recommendations for culturally attuned work with multiracial people. Social Work, 56, 235–245. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/56.3.235

43.

Jarvis

M. L.

Okonofua

J. A.

(2020). Discipline disparities and discrimination in schools. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7(2), 141–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732220941419

44.

Jussim

(1989). Teacher expectations: Self-fulfilling prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(3), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.3.469

45.

Kang-Brown

Trone

Fratello

Daftary-Kapur

(2013). A generation later: What we've learned about zero tolerance in schools. Vera Institute of Justice, Center of Youth Justice.

46.

Kelley

Maxwell

S. E.

(2018). Multiple regression. In The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the social sciences.(pp. 313–330). Routledge.

47.

Kennedy-Lewis

B. L.

(2014). Using critical policy analysis to examine competing discourses in zero tolerance legislation: Do we really want to leave no child behind? Journal of Education Policy, 29(2), 165–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2013.800911

48.

Kliebard

H. M.

(1995). The struggle for the American curriculum: 1893-1958. Routledge.

49.

Ladson-Billings

(2021). I’m here for the hard re-set: Post pandemic pedagogy to preserve our culture. Equity and Excellence in Education, 54(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2020.1863883

50.

Ladson-Billings

Tate

W. F.

(1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers’ College Record, 97(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146819509700104

51.

Ladson-Billings

Tate

W. F.

(2006). Toward a Critical Race Theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47–68. IV. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146819509700104

52.

Ledesma

M. C.

Calderón

(2015). Critical Race Theory in education: A review of past literature and a look to the future. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800414557825

53.

Levesque

R. J.

(2011). Zero tolerance policies. In Encyclopedia of adolescence (pp. 3105–3106).Springer.

54.

Little

A. P.

(2020). Voices of the unheard: Black girls and school discipline. The Ohio State University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. 2020.28730838.

55.

Lorenzetti, N. L., & Johnson, H. (2023). Teacher education students' implicit racial attitudes and interpersonal attribution of racialized student behavior. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 18(1), 98–116. https://doi.org/10.20355/jcie29535

56.

McAndrews

(2001). The politics of school reform, 1945–1990. Northern Illinois University Press.

57.

McAndrews

(2001). Zero tolerance policies. ERIC Digest Number, 146.

58.

McDonough, R. P., McLelland, A. J., & Warren Jr, J. D. (2024). A century of progress: US government accountability office procedures, reports, and performance measures. Accounting Horizons, 38(2), 179–196.

59.

McIntosh

Girvan

E. J.

Horner

R. H.

Smolkowski

(2014). A conceptual model for reducing racial and ethnic disproportionality in school discipline. Manuscript submitted for publication.

60.

Monroe

C. R.

(2005). Why are” bad boys” always black?: Causes of disproportionality in school discipline and recommendations for change. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas, 79(1), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.3200/TCHS.79.1.45-50

61.

Morris

E. W.

Perry

B. L.

(2017). Girls behaving badly? Race, gender, and subjective evaluation in the discipline of African American girls. Sociology of Education, 90(2), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040717694876

62.

Morris

(2016). Pushout: The criminalization of Black girls in schools. The New Press.

63.

Morris

M. W.

(2012). Race, gender, and the school-to-prison pipeline: Expanding our discussion to include Black girls. African American Policy Forum.

64.

Murphy

Mayborn

F. W.

(2013). Schooling in the post-industrial world. Teachers College Press.

65.

Ogbu

J. U.

(1978). Minority education and caste: The American system in cross-cultural perspective. Academic Press Inc.

66.

Ogbu

J. U.

(1982). Cultural discontinuities and schooling. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 13(4), 290–307. https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.1982.13.4.05 ( 1733v

67.

Ogbu

J. U.

(2003). Black American students in an affluent suburb: A study of academic disengagement. Routledge.

68.

Okonofua

J. A.

Walton

G. M.

Eberhardt

J. L.

(2016). A vicious cycle: A social–psychological account of extreme racial disparities in school discipline. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(3), 381–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616635592

69.

Payne

A. A.

Welch

(2022). Restorative justice in schools: The influence of race on implementation and outcomes. Youth & Society, 54(8), 1431–1456. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X12473125

70.

Peguero

A. A.

Varela

Marchbanks

Blake

Eason

(2021). School punishment and educational outcomes: Racial and ethnic disparities in urban, suburban, and rural schools. Urban Education, 56(7), 1105–1132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918801433

71.

Seider

Huguley

McCobb

Titchner

Ward

Zheng

(2023). How parents in multiethnic-racial families share cultural assets with their children. Race Social Problems, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-022-09384-1

72.

Skiba

R. J.

Arredondo

M. I.

Williams

N. T.

(2011). More than a metaphor: The contribution of exclusionary discipline to a school-to-prison pipeline. Equity Project at Indiana University. https://www.indiana.edu/∼atlantic/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/More-than-a-Metaphor.pdf .

73.

Skiba

R. J.

Chung

C. G.

Trachok

Baker

T. L.

Sheya

Hughes

R. L.

(2014). Parsing disciplinary disproportionality: Contributions of infraction, student, and school characteristics to out-of-school suspension and expulsion. American Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 640–670. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214541670

74.

Skiba

R. J.

Horner

R. H.

Chung

C. G.

Rausch

M. K.

May

S. L.

Tobin

(2011). Race is not neutral: A national investigation of African American and Latino disproportionality in school discipline. School Psychology Review, 40(1), 85–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2011.12087730

75.

Speybroeck

Kuppens

Van Damme

Van Petegem

Lamote

Boonen

DeBilde

(2012). The role of teachers’ expectations in the association between children’s SES and performance in kindergarten: A moderated mediation analysis. PloS One, 7(4), Article e34502. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034502

76.

Strickland, J. R. (2023). The reorganization of schools into teacher team-based structures: An exploration of collegial supports in the era of accountability. Indiana University.

77.

Steele

C. M.

(1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613–629. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.52.6.613

78.

The White House . (2025, April 23). Executive order 14280: Reinstating commonsense school discipline policies. Federal Register, 90(80), 17533–17535. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/reinstating-common-sense-school-discipline-policies/ .

79.

U.S. Census Bureau . (2021). 2020 census illuminates racial and ethnic composition of the country. Census.Gov, https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/ improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html.

80.

U.S. Concealed Carry Association. Which States Allow Teachers to Carry Concealed . (2020) https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/which-states-allow-teachers-to-carry-concealed/.

81.

U.S. Department of Education . (2016). Every Student Succeeds Act: Implementation guidance. https://www.ed.gov/essa/resources

82.

U.S. Department of Education . (2023). Guiding principles for creating safe, inclusive, supportive, and fair school climates (pp. 6, 15). Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/guiding-principlespdf-56362.pdf

83.

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights . (2014). Civil rights data collection data snapshot: School discipline. Issue brief no. 1. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-discipline-snapshot.pdf.

84.

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights . (2014). Civil rights data collection: Data snapshot (school discipline). (p. 3) https://ocrdata.ed.gov/assets/downloads/CRDC-School-Discipline-Snapshot.pdf

85.

Vezaldenos

V. A.

Jacobs

L. A.

Rivas-Drake

(2023). Raising “antiracist disruptors”: Illuminating socialization practices that support antiracism in multiracial households. Race and Social Problems, 15(1), 79–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-023-09389-4

86.

Welch

Payne

A. A.

(2010). Racial threat and punitive school discipline. Social Problems, 57(1), 25–48. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2010.57.1.25

87.

Wells

I. B.

(2014). The light of truth: Writings of an anti-lynching crusader. P. xix. Penguin.

88.

Williams III

J. A.

Edosomwan

Grice

Richardson

S. C.

Young

(2022). Is the employment of school resource officers in high schools associated with Black girls’ discipline outcomes? Race Ethnicity and Education, 25(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2021.2005944

89.

World Population Review. (2026). World population by country. Retrieved November 15, 2024, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries.

90.

Wun

(2016). Unaccounted foundations: Black girls, anti-Black racism, and punishment in schools. Critical Sociology, 42(4-5), 737–750. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920514560444

91.

Zinsser

K. M.

Silver

H. C.

Shenberger

E. R.

Jackson

(2022). A systematic review of early childhood exclusionary discipline. Review of Educational Research, 92(5), 743–785. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543211070047