Data and Analytics:
Suspension and Expulsion
MAY 2015
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Student Discipline:
Understanding the Context
How many students are suspended or expelled?
Who is suspended or expelled?
How many times are they suspended or expelled?
How long are they removed?
For which behaviors?
How many
students are
suspended
or expelled?
Approximately 4% of all Washington
students were suspended or expelled
during the 2014–15 school year.
The rate of suspensions and expulsions
across districts vary—from nearly 0% to
over 10% of students in a district.
An example:
Suspension / Expulsion Rate
100 students in the district
20 were suspended
one or more times
Suspension Rate
20 students suspended
100 total students
= 20%
Student Discipline:
Understanding the Context
How many students are suspended or expelled?
Who is suspended or expelled?
How many times are they suspended or expelled?
How long are they removed?
For what behaviors?
Who is
suspended
or expelled?
According to state and national data, in many
schools, male students, students of color, and
students with disabilities are suspended and
expelled more frequently than other students.
These trends warrant serious attention from schools,
as well as OSPI, to work toward equitable outcomes
for each student.
Schools must carefully review their student
discipline data to consider whether policies,
procedures, or practices are discriminatory, or have
a discriminatory effect, and to remedy them.
Are we giving
each student an
equal chance
to succeed?
DRAFT
Federal Civil Rights Laws
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
DRAFT
Federal Civil Rights Laws
U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
www2.ed.gov/ocr
www.justice.gov/crt
DRAFT
State Civil Rights Law
Equal Educational Opportunity Laws
• Chapter 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW
• Chapter 392-190 WAC
• OSPI Civil Rights Guidelines
DRAFT
State Civil Rights Law
Each district and charter school must annually
review discipline data disaggregated by sex, race,
ELL-status, and disability (special education and
Section 504) to identify and address disparities.
WAC 392-190-048
DRAFT
Student discipline
can result in unlawful
discrimination in
two ways
Dear Colleague Letter, January 8, 2014
(U.S. Departments of Education and Justice)
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/l
etters/colleague-201401-title-vi.html
When a school disciplines a student
differently based on their protected class
(e.g., race, color, national origin, sex, disability)
When a school policy, procedure, or practice is neutral on
its face, and administered in an evenhanded manner, but
has an adverse impact on students of a protected class
1. Has a discipline policy, procedure, or practice resulted in an
adverse impact on students of one protected class?
2. Is the policy, procedure, or practice necessary to meet an
important educational goal?
3. Are there comparably effective alternative policies, procedures,
or practices that would meet the educational goal with less of
an adverse impact?
Measuring
Disproportionality
Data analysis into the impact of discipline
policies, procedures, and practices is an
important indicator of equity and
civil rights compliance
DRAFT
Measuring Disproportionality:
Composition Index
There are many ways to estimate disproportionality in discipline.
One way is the composition index. The composition index measures
whether groups of students are suspended or expelled at a rate
proportionate to their representation in the student population.
In other words, the composition index shows how equitable or
representative the discipline rate is for students of a given group.
Measuring Disproportionality:
Composition Index
% of suspensions
% of enrollment
# of suspended students in group
Total # of students in group
Total # of suspended students
Total # of students
An example:
Suspension / Expulsion Rate
100 students in the district
20 were suspended
one or more times
Suspension Rate
20 students suspended
100 total students
= 20%
An example:
Enrollment Overview
100 students in the district
40% are boys
60% are girls
An example:
Proportionality—Using Composition Index
100 students in the district
40% are boys
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
Composition Index
Boys are 80% of suspensions
Boys are 40% of student enrollment
=2
S
S
S
S
S
80% of suspensions are boys S
The percentage of suspensions who are
boys is 2 times greater than their
percentage in the student population.
Measuring Disproportionality:
Composition Index
The closer the composition index is to one, the more
proportionate the discipline rate is for that specific group.
Numbers greater than one indicate the group makes up
more of the suspensions/expulsions than their representation
in the population generally.
What do these data show?
How many students are suspended or expelled?
Who is suspended or expelled?
What is not shown with these data?
How many students are suspended or expelled?
Who is suspended or expelled?
How many times are students suspended or expelled?
How long are they removed?
For which behaviors?
Districts with fewer than 500 students, or 20 in a given group
Let’s visualize it…
DRAFT
DRAFT
Let’s
visualize
it…
District
District Z
District Z
Group
Blue
Yellow
Total
Total
Students
Percent of Percent of
Overall
Total Student Students with SS, LS, Enrolled
Suspended Composition Discipline
Enrollment
in Group EX
Students
Students Index
Rate
16
4
1
25
33
1.32
18.75
16
12
2
75
67
0.89
18.75
Viewing the
districts…
The bubbles….
Hovering on a bubble will show…
• District name
• Composition index of the
student group selected
• Discipline rate of all students
in the district
• Percent of the student group
within the total student
population (the bubble size
indicates this percentage)
• School year
The axis scale….
In this view, the difference between the index for District F12
and A1 for Black/African American is about 1.5. Notice how the
axis scale changes when you view Hispanic/Latino.
(~1.5)
(~0.8)
The difference between the index for District
F2 and B11 for Hispanic/Latino is about 0.8—
yet the space between the bubbles is relatively
similar to the chart above.
However, if the axis scale is kept the same, it is harder see the
statistical difference—the bubbles may end up more
condensed and may overlap.
On the OSPI discipline charts, the axis scale will adjust. So, be
sure to note the axis values!
By using filters, select
the range of the
composition index
And/or select the
group to analyze
And/or select the
discipline rate
Change the range of
composition
And/or change the
group
And/or change the
discipline rate
DRAFT
Act
Plan
Study
Do
www.k12.wa.us/studentdiscipline/Equity/default.aspx
1. Plan:
Analyze
your data
and identify
root causes
Act
Plan
Study
Do
2. Do:
Decide on
a plan and
implement
Act
Plan
Study
Do
3. Study:
Evaluate
and monitor
progress
Act
Plan
Check
Do
4. Act:
Adjust, if
necessary
Act
Plan
Study
Do
Where do I go for help?
www.k12.wa.us/studentdiscipline/Equity/default.aspx
Equity and Civil Rights Office
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
(360) 725-6162 │ TTY: (360) 664-3631
equity@k12.wa.us