| The current study examined office discipline referrals for students in high school in a mid sized city in the Southwest United States. The study was a quantitative descriptive study which analyzed existing data provided by the school district. Over 16,000 discipline referrals were examined for high school students grades nine through 12. Ninth graders are more likely to get suspended than older students. Male students are more likely to have discipline referrals than females. African American students are more likely to get discipline referrals and be suspended than any other ethnic group. Students at risk are more likely to have discipline referrals and get suspended from school than their same age peers who are not at risk. Students who receive Special Education services are more likely to be suspended than students who do not receive those services. While all these variables impact student discipline at school, none of them fully explains why students with certain demographic characteristics continue to receive more discipline referrals and more suspensions than other students across the United States. |
