The Hidden Costs of California's Harsh School Discipline: And the Localized Economic Benefits from Suspending Fewer High School Students

N

35

California Endowment
The Atlantic Philanthropies

Suspension; Grade 10; Predictor Variables; Graduation Rate; High School Students; Influences; Demography; School Districts; Economic Impact; Educational Finance; Student Records; Statistical Analysis

This California study focuses on the economic impact of school suspensions at the district level. Every 10th grade student in California was tracked for three years to determine the degree to which suspensions predicted lower graduation rates at the state and district level. This estimated impact on graduation was then used to calculate the economic costs of suspension for the state, and for every district. These California findings are consistent with other studies that found that even accounting for demographic differences, the factors that educators can control are strong predictors of whether suspension rates are high or low (Fabelo et al., 2011; Skiba, 2014, 2015). In other words, because school and district-controlled factors do predict suspension rates, they can also determine whether or not economic benefits from reducing suspensions are realized. The report describes the data sources, methods, limitations, with additional analyses in the appendix. First provided are statewide findings, and then findings for the state's 15 largest districts. In the discussion section, explored is how this report could help inform the development of school climate indicators, and make recommendations for Local Control and Accountabilty Plan (LCAP) budgets as well as encourage the use of a school discipline indicator as part of California's school accountability system this year and for many years to come. Descriptive statistics and model estimates are appended.

ERIC

29

2017

ED573326