Root causes of disproportionality in exclusionary discipline are multiply determined. Teachers' perceptions and implicit biases, enacted within the contexts of schools as racialised organisations, shape how educators interpret and respond to student behaviour. Focusing on the referral phase of the disciplinary process, this systematic review of…

This study sought to understand how state-level policies inform and promote the implementation of restorative justice in education (RJE). A content analysis of 60 laws revealed that definitions, structures, and supports varied greatly, causing us to question whether policies support a systematic implementation of RJE and how policies can prevent…

As protests flared in 2020, Black students took to Instagram to voice their experiences at 'no-excuses' Charter Management Organizations (CMOs). Such schools have presented a discourse of high achievement and social justice. Yet, in the span of a few weeks, hundreds of posts on Instagram offered rarely heard counter-narratives of the experience of…

Research using school discipline and infraction data has contributed to public policy conversations by helping elucidate the effects of and disproportionate experience of school disciplinary outcomes. This research brief presents results from an analysis of the public availability of such data from state departments of education. Findings suggest…

This study examines the impact of statewide Restorative Justice (RJ) policy reforms in Michigan and Texas on student disciplinary outcomes and behavior, in light of increasing concerns over the negative effects of zero-tolerance policies. As schools move away from exclusionary discipline practices, this research focuses on three primary questions:…

Student removal became an increasingly utilized form of discipline since the implementation of zero-tolerance policies during the early 1990s. Evaluative studies have consistently found negative relationships between student removal and academic success. Majority of cases regarding student removal are for minor and non-violent offenses and…

The criminalization of school discipline and its resulting consequences for students, particularly students of color, has been widely studied. While results from previous research have shown racial and gender differences in punitive school experiences like suspension, school-based arrest, and school-based referrals to juvenile justice systems,…

Long-term effects associated with the use of zero-tolerance policies and lack of restorative discipline strategies used with expelled students in a local Lower Rio Grande Valley school district revealed that students' lives were impacted negatively by educators who practiced a one-size-fits-all approach to school discipline. Marginalization of…

Suspension rates for students of color are higher than for White students, even in schools that utilize alternatives to suspension like restorative practices. This study draws on data from a year-long multicase ethnography that sought to elucidate why such disproportionality prevails in schools that use restorative practices. This article focuses…

Utilizing ethnographic data from a public Grade 6 to 12 Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) in Texas, this article examines the frequently overlooked impact of zero tolerance school discipline on parents. The analysis focuses on three disciplinary practices: (a) Mandatory Parent/Student Orientation, (b) Night Classes, and (c)…

Existing studies evaluate zero tolerance policies and the school-to-prison pipeline. Additional research identifies the role of criminal justice systems in deporting immigrants. Our work bridges these two literatures by discussing how immigrant students navigate the criminal justice system within schools. Using interviews with immigrant students,…

This case study follows an early-career teacher from an undergraduate educator preparation program into her first teaching position in an urban high-stakes charter school organization. At the beginning, the cognitive dissonance between her emergent educational philosophy and the extreme features of the charter school environment, such as the…

Background/Context: Embedded in "common sense" and state-mandated reforms to close "the achievement gap," the urban school, especially those sites with a no-excuses orientation to learning, can produce and reproduce the carceral state in students' lives. The seemingly innocuous policies and processes limit access to educational…

Educational innovations such as 'no-excuses' charter schools have emerged as a discipline-focused approach to schooling as they are predicated on communicating high-expectations and personal responsibility. As 'no-excuses' charters are replicated across the United States as part of a neoliberal education reform policy, there continues to be…

In this article, the authors discuss zero tolerance policies and implications for those they affect most, namely students of color (e.g., Black, American Indian, Latino/a/e) and students with disabilities. First, we present a brief history of the use of zero tolerance policies in school discipline and review the literature on their effects.…