1 in 5 students report unfair discipline at school
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Key takeaways:
- Nearly one-quarter of Black students reported being unfairly disciplined at school.
- Students who reported unfair discipline experienced higher prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts or behavior.
One in five high school students in the United States reported being unfairly disciplined at school, according to findings published in MMWR.
The report came 1 week after the AAP released an updated policy statement advocating against exclusionary punishment in schools, including suspension and expulsion.
Using data from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Kathleen H. Krause, PhD, from the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, and colleagues examined the relationship between high school students’ reports of unfair discipline at school and their mental health and health risk behaviors.
Out of 20,103 students, 19.3% reported receiving discipline that they believed to be unfair at school in the previous year, according to the researchers. More boys reported unfair discipline than girls (21.6% vs. 16.4%), and a larger proportion of students in grades 9 and 10 reported being disciplined unfairly compared with students in grades 11 and 12.
Nearly one-quarter of Black students reported unfair discipline (23.1%), the survey found.
“Black students were the only racial or ethnic group to have a significantly higher prevalence than other racial or ethnic groups,” the researchers wrote. “Black students also disproportionately experience consequences from receiving school discipline compared with white students, such as lower academic achievement, chronic absenteeism and dropping out and arrest.”
The researchers also compared the data based on students’ reported sexual orientation. Students who were questioning or unsure of their sexual identity reported lower than average prevalence of unfair discipline (14.2%), whereas students who identified in some way other than lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual or questioning reported higher rates of unfair discipline (23.8%).
“A salient finding from this report is that 81.7% of American Indian/Alaskan Native students and 57.1% of multiracial students who identify some other way reported receiving unfair discipline at school,” the researchers wrote. “The Office for Civil Rights does not collect information on students’ sexual and gender identity, so this finding represents a new data point in nationally representative data that document the experience of LGBQ+ students, specifically LGBQ+ students of color.”
In their analysis, the researchers found that unfair discipline was associated with worse school experience, poor mental health, suicidal thoughts and behavior and more risky behavior.
Overall, half of students (53.1%) who were unfairly disciplined reported persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness compared with 37.5% of students who did not report unfair discipline. In addition, 29.1% of students who reported unfair discipline had seriously considered attempting suicide, and 15.3% attempted suicide.
“Schools play a vital role in creating safe and supportive environments that promote the well-being of all students; however, this report contributes to the literature that demonstrates the negative experiences associated with school discipline,” Krause and colleagues wrote.
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Krause KH, et al. MMWR Suppl. 2024;doi:10.15585/mmwr.su7304a8.
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