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School suspension and the school-to-prison pipeline

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  • Cuellar, Alison Evans
  • Markowitz, Sara

Abstract

Schools have many available strategies to address problem behavior among students. One option increasingly used by schools is to suspend problem youth and remove them for defined periods. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether this type of disciplinary policy has unintended consequences by giving problem youth greater opportunity to commit crimes outside of school. Previous studies have looked at the “incapacitation” effect of school holidays and teacher strike days, but these studies do not directly address the relevant school policy decisions. The current study relies on administrative data from a school district and a juvenile justice system. The results indicate that out-of-school suspension may increase criminal offending behavior by problem youth, more than doubling the probability of arrest. The effect is particularly large among African American youth, relative to Whites.

Suggested Citation

  • Cuellar, Alison Evans & Markowitz, Sara, 2015. "School suspension and the school-to-prison pipeline," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 98-106.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:43:y:2015:i:c:p:98-106
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irle.2015.06.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Billings, Stephen B. & Phillips, David C., 2017. "Why do kids get into trouble on school days?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 16-24.
    2. Welsh, Richard O. & Little, Shafiqua, 2018. "Caste and control in schools: A systematic review of the pathways, rates and correlates of exclusion due to school discipline," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 315-339.
    3. Dong, Beidi & Krohn, Marvin D., 2020. "The effects of parental school exclusion on offspring drug use: An intergenerational path analysis," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Folorunso Obayemi Temitope Obasuyi & Rajah Rasiah & Santha Chenayah, 2020. "Identification of Measurement Variables for Understanding Vulnerability to Education Inequality in Developing Countries: A Conceptual Article," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    5. Dave, Dhaval M., 2016. "Causal effects of mental health treatment on education outcomes for youth in the justice systemAuthor-Name: Cuellar, Alison," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 321-339.

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