The Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio’s new report on the state of school discipline identified that disparities in out-of-school suspensions and expulsions persists, among other findings that merit public policy action.
Looking at longitudinal data from 2005-2019, the disparities in the Black-White discipline gap are stark. Compared to White boys, Black boys in Ohio were 4.5x more likely to have disciplinary action leading to out-of-school suspension or expulsion in the 2018-2019 school year.
The racial disparities that persist are further pronounced when disaggregated by gender. Although Black boys were the most likely demographic to receive out-of-school punishment, we found that the biggest disparity overall in disproportionate punishment by race and gender is between Black girls and White girls. In fact, during the 2018-2019 school year, Black girls faced 7x more out-of-school suspensions than White girls.
See Page 10 of “The State of School Discipline in Ohio,” Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio.