De-Escalation With Low-Intensity Antecedent Strategies: Implications for Disproportionate Disciplinary Outcomes

Research suggests that a cycle of misbehavior can escalate quickly from corrections over minor rule infractions to threats of serious disciplinary consequences. There is also evidence that Black youth may be especially at risk for these escalations due to subtle or implicit racial bias, or cultural mismatches that may lead teachers to believe that minor rule violations, especially those that require subjective judgments, convey willful defiance or disrespect. In this article, we provide a brief overview of data confirming that Black students experience disproportionate disciplinary outcomes, explore the idea that one contributor to disproportionality may be cultural disconnects between adults and the student population, and consider the idea that many punitive disciplinary actions evolve from relatively minor classroom conflict, disruption, or rule violations. We argue that fairly simple, low-intensity antecedent strategies that show promise in defusing problems rather than exacerbating them may offer mitigation against disproportionate disciplinary outcomes.