Student Suspensions Have Negative Consequences, According to NYC Study

• NCJ Number: 303042
• Date Published: November 2021
• Grant Number(s): 2014-CK-BX-0001
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Examining School Safety and Positive Climate and Culture: A Comprehensive Study in New York City

Annotation

This National Institute of Justice article presents the finding of a study on the negative impacts associated with school exclusion punishments.

Abstract

There’s been growing concern in recent years that excluding students from school, through suspension or expulsion, can negatively impact them later in life. An extensive National Institute of Justice funded-study of New York City school students found that, once disciplined in school, students were more likely to face further discipline or justice-system involvement if they were male, Black, Hispanic, disabled, or poor — even after accounting for students’ conduct and other factors. The researchers also reported that local schools have potential to be safe spaces for children, regardless of the relative safety, or negative influences, of the surrounding neighborhood. In that vein, the researchers discovered that factors inside the school — for example, use of restorative and positive approaches to discipline — likely influence overall school safety and school climate more than factors in the surrounding environment.