Keeping Black Girls in School: A Systematic Review of Opportunities to Address Exclusionary Discipline Disparity

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/2153368720988894
• Author: Lynn A. Addington
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Research Notes

Research Note

Keeping Black Girls in

School: A Systematic

Review of Opportunities

to Address Exclusionary

Discipline Disparity

Lynn A. Addington

1

Abstract

A punitive legacy of the responses to school shootings in the United States is the

expansion of exclusionary discipline. Black girls have disproportionately experienced

this form of punishment as compared to white girls and non-Black girls of color.

A small, but growing, body of research has examined the patterns and causes of this

disparity. Current studies have made suggestions for possible solutions to address this

disparity, but these recommendations are not readily accessible in a single location.

A catalogue of these ideas could provide a useful foundation for policy development

and evaluation. The present research note seeks to generate this resource by

conducting a systematic review to identify and categorize recommendations aimed at

reducing the discipline disparity experienced by Black girls. Based on this review, four

categories emerged that center around: (1) culturally competent school programs,

(2) enhanced teacher training, (3) spaces at school for empowering Black girls, and

(4) trauma-informed student policies. This research note discusses these categories of

recommendations using an intersectional framework and concludes with a summary

of next steps to guide future research and policy work to address the dispropor-

tionate use of exclusionary discipline against Black girls.

Keywords

African/black Americans, race/ethnicity, culturally-specific programs, race and juvenile

justice, school violence, female delinquency, justice

1

Department of Justice, Law & Criminology, American University, Washington, DC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Lynn A. Addington, Department of Justice, Law & Criminology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts

Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.

Email: adding@american.edu

Race and Justice

ªThe Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/2153368720988894

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2023, Vol. 13(3) 386–\ 402

One punitive legacy of the responses to school shootings in the United States has been

the expansion of exclusionary discipline, specifically out-of-school suspensions and

expulsions. Previously reserved for drug and serious violent offenses, exclusionary

discipline now is used to address minor rule violations (Addington, 2019; Blake et al.,

2011). This change is problematic for a few reasons. One is the increased risk of

contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems for students subjected to

exclusionary discipline (Rocque & Snellings, 2018). Another is the lack of empirical

support justifying the effectiveness of these sanctions to combat school violence and

disorder (American Psychology Association, 2008). Amplifying both of these con-

cerns is the disproportionate manner in which exclusionary discipline is applied across

races and genders (Morris & Perry, 2017; Skiba et al., 2002).

Against this backdrop, the experience of Black girls is receiving increased atten-

tion. Studies consistently find that Black girls are disproportionately subjected to

out-of-school suspensions and expulsions as compared to girls of other races

(Crenshaw et al., 2015; US Department of Education, 2018). These patterns remain

even in schools that have sought to reduce the overall use of exclusionary discipline

(Baker-Smith, 2018; O. Johnson et al., 2019). As a result, advocates recommend work

to understand the reasons that underlie the disproportionate punishment of Black girls

and then use this information to tailor effective solutions (Crenshaw, 2015; Morris,

2016a). Researchers are heeding this call, although initial efforts tend to emphasize

causes for the disparity rather than specific suggestions for ways to address it.

The present research note seeks to continue this work by conducting a systematic

review of the literature to identify and categorize current recommendations that

address the exclusionary discipline disparity confronting Black girls. Given the

growing attention to this issue, now is a useful time to take stock of and gather these

ideas in an accessible resource to support future policy development. Before turning to

the systematic review and its findings, a brief background is provided to describe the

patterns in exclusionary discipline involving Black girls and explanations for the

disproportionate rates.

Background

Research across the board finds a disproportionate use of exclusionary discipline

involving Black girls (e.g., Hines-Datiri & Carter Andrews, 2020; Smith-Evans et al.,

2014). These patterns are observed at the national, state and local levels. At the

national level, data collected by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil

Rights illustrate this pattern of disparity. The most recent report found that Black girls

constitute 8%of the US student population but 14%of suspensions and 10%of

expulsions during the 2015–16 school year (US Department of Education, 2018).

Research using state and local disciplinary data finds similar patterns. A study of

Kentucky public school students considered office referrals and found Black girls

three times as likely to receive a referral as white girls and the same likelihood as

white boys (Morris & Perry, 2017). A comparison of Boston and New York City

public schools found Black girls disciplined at rates at least 10 times greater than

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Addington