Research shows that exclusionary disciplinary referrals are an ineffective intervention for long-term shifts in students’ behavior in the classroom, and have negative effects on overall student outcomes. Exclusionary discipline has been shown to increase dropout rates and the likelihood of criminal justice involvement, while also reducing school engagement. These effects are intensified for students of color and students with disabilities, the student groups who receive referrals that take them out of the classroom at disproportionately high rates. When education systems commit to alternative discipline practices like restorative justice, positive behavioral interventions, and trauma-informed response, student engagement overall wellbeing increase. In the data analyses below, we examine referrals that remove a student from the classroom, such as in-school or out-of-school suspension, expulsion, or placement in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP)/Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP).

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