Conference Produces 16 Papers on “Closing the School Discipline Gap”
Date: 04-30-2013
Studies examine racial disparity, economic factors, and juvenile justice issues surrounding school suspensions
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles has issued a comprehensive list of research papers gleaned from the “Closing the School Discipline Gap Conference” held in January 2013. The conference examined “... the impacts of exclusionary school-discipline practices, research-based approaches to reducing the discipline gap, and efforts to end the school-to-prison pipeline.
Reentry Central has posted several articles on the collateral consequences of school suspensions. Suspended youth can end up in juvenile detention centers which can be a precursor to future involvement in the adult criminal justice system. School disciplinary actions often involve children of color. To read the UCLA Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles report Out of School and Off Track: The Overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools Click here to go to website.
The papers presented at the “Closing the School Discipline Gap Conference” provide a wealth of information for educators and juvenile justice reform advocates. Topics of the papers include successful efforts to reduce suspensions as well as studies indicating that keeping youth in school is cost-effective, particularly when it prevents youth involvement in the criminal justice system.
