State Reports

Lost Instruction: The Disparate Impact of the School Discipline Gap in California

This report is the first to analyze California’s school discipline data as measured by days of missed instruction due to suspension.

Suspended Education in Massachusetts: Using Days of Lost Instruction Due to Suspension to Evaluate Our Schools

This study uses percentages reported by the state to estimate the total days of missed instruction per 100 students enrolled. The authors argue that this school-level analysis is an ideal indicator for the state’s proposed new accountability system because it gives meaningful information to the public about school climate with regard to how much lost instruction is incurred by students, an area that schools have a great deal of control over.

The Hidden Cost of California's Harsh School Discipline

The new report calculates the financial consequences of suspending students in each California school district with more than 100 students, and for the state as a whole.

The Economic Burden of High School Dropouts and School Suspensions in Florida

In this paper, we calculate two economic consequences of Florida public school students dropping out of high school—the social consequences for the state economy and well being, and the fiscal consequences for the federal, state, and local governments.

The Costs of High School Failure and School Suspensions for the State of California

In this report, we first calculate the economic losses to the state of California that result from students’ failure to complete their high school education, and then relate these losses to current school policies on suspension.

Closing the School Discipline Gap in California: Signs of Progress

This report describes the most current state and district suspension rates, and covers both trends and racial disparities in the use of suspension in California. A spreadsheet accompanying this report enables any reader to find their own district’s most recent disaggregated data, as well as three- year trends for out-of-school suspensions, all of which can be compared to other districts in California. We hope that policymakers in the state and across the nation will take note of the state- and district-level progress, and of the large disparities indicating that a great deal more effort is warranted.

Keeping California's Kids in School

This report compares this year’s data release covering 2012-13 to the data released last year covering 2011-12. We find a reduction in the use of out-of-school suspension for every racial/ethnic group.

Suspended Education in California

This report and companion spreadsheet covering nearly 500 districts reveals to the public the unusually high levels of risk for suspension as well as the stark differences in discipline when these risks are presented by race, gender and disability status.

Out of School & Off Track: Reports by District

These regional reports detail suspension rates for students based on Department of Education data. Disaggregation by school level, race and disability status reveals profound disparities in the risk for out of school suspensions.

Unmasking School Discipline Disparities in California: What the 2019-2020 Data Can Tell Us about Problems and Progress

Limited data collection and analysis during the 2019-2020 pandemic-shortened school year masked the fact that many school districts in California were on course for substantially higher rates of school suspension and larger racial disparities among those suspended, had in-person education continued for the full year.