The Color of Discretion: Race and Ethnicity Biases in School Suspension

Abstract

Racial discrimination in school punishment is well documented but not well understood. We examine the politics of implicit bias as theorized by the Racial Classification Model using two types of school suspensions in a state with large numbers of both Black and Hispanic students. We find important differences in sanctioning patterns with Black and Hispanic enrollment as expected from differing stereotypes of those groups. There are also differences within Hispanic students in Florida—again highlighting the importance of group stereotypes. In addition, we find a spillover effect, where schools comprised of more Black (and to a lesser extent, Hispanic) students have higher suspension rates for not only Black students, but for White and Hispanic students as well.