Deficit narratives about Blackness are embedded in research, discourse, and policies as policymakers and researchers theorize about differences in schooling outcomes between Black students and their peers. We offer a counterstory to prevailing conceptualizations of student absenteeism by arguing that they center racialized and deficit narratives…

The study conducted a 10-year (2011-2021) content analysis of K-12 Black student mental health literature. The analysis aimed to review school counseling literature concerning mental health support for Black youth. Findings revealed that the majority of the qualifying studies had Black students as the sample focus, and most frequently examined…

Many scholars have documented the critical importance of youth having access to spaces of joy and homeplaces in which they learn to matter. Research has shown that Black LGBTQ+ youth often struggle to locate homeplaces and spaces of joy in K-12 schooling contexts due to societal beliefs flowing from anti-blackness, (hetero)sexism, homophobia,…

The forces against school integration are relentless. Societal and marketplace decisions create segregated schools even in racially integrated areas in the suburbs. Jonathan E. Collins suggests creating a federal designation for public schools called the Black-serving institution (BSI), similar to historically Black colleges and universities.…

Former NFL football star Deion Sanders set off controversy when he announced he was leaving his post as head football coach at Mississippi's Jackson State University, a historically Black college or university (HBCU), to go to University of Colorado. Jonathan E. Collins discusses how the concept of HBCUs could be taken up by public schools that…

I examine the effect of out-of-school suspensions (OSS) on attendance in a large midwestern urban district with high rates of chronic absenteeism. I do so from an ecological perspective and using daily attendance and discipline data. Out-of-school suspension has a modest and persistent negative effect on subsequent attendance, particularly for…

To specifically add to the literature on Black girls cultivating their science genius, Black women science teachers 'talk back' by sharing and developing their own narratives about being a science-curious young Black girl and how they use that experience to actualize their vision for liberatory science teaching. This international, qualitative…

In this study, we examine how race and racism impact the schooling of African American males by analyzing the first-person perspective of hip-hop superstar, Nasir "Nas" Jones. We selected Nas due to his unique yet prevalent educational trajectory and perspectives. Critical race theory is employed as a framework as well as notions of…

This study provides a descriptive analysis of police intervention as a response to student behavior in New York City public schools. We find that between the 2016/17 and 2021/22 academic years, arrests and juvenile referrals decreased while non-detainment-based and psychiatric police interventions increased. However, Black students, especially…

Black boys in K-12 education are disproportionately subjected to suspensions and expulsions, impeding their academic progress, personal development, and self-perception and perpetuating a cycle of systemic marginalization. This study explored this urgent matter through the perspective of my Black son, Kyree, whose narratives provide insight into…

In "Creating Educational Justice," Cheryl Fields-Smith upholds the decisions of Black parents to homeschool their children as acts of empowerment, resistance, and educational justice. The work spotlights the various motivations of Black families to home educate, bringing attention to key issues facing K-12 public schooling in the United…

This paper critically examines the systemic harm inflicted on Black students through anti-Black classroom management and disciplinary practices, positioning Pro-Blackness as a transformative framework for healing and justice. Grounded in healing justice and African Diaspora Literacy, the discussion highlights the pervasive impact of the…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of PreK-12th grade educators from a public school district in northwest Houston, Texas, regarding factors that may contribute to the disproportionate placement of African American males. The researcher used this methodology to explain and describe the…

We examined changes in school discipline policies and the odds of suspension for students by race in one state. Consistent with previous research findings, Black students continue to be suspended at higher rates than White students. School district code of conduct policies indicated that many school districts have started to incorporate…

In this collection of autoethnographies, four researchers explored our deeply personal experiences and encounters with racialized oppression in the form of spirit-murder. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Whiteness Studies, this dissertation explores how two white educators have committed spirit-murder against Black students and how…