Suspended: Student Mental Health and Unequal Discipline
School suspensions have risen in many areas of the country since the pandemic, as teachers and administrators struggle with a wave of behavioral challenges and classroom disruption. The trend threatens long-running efforts to reform school discipline and to develop restorative justice strategies centered on children’s mental health. It also has prompted new worries over widespread and persistent racial disparities in how schools punish kids. In Missouri, for instance, Black students served 36% of all days in suspension, despite making up only 15% of the student body. There’s are gender gaps as well: Black girls had the highest rates of “exclusionary discipline” in public schools, and students with autism or mental health disabilities are more likely to be suspended as well. Many school districts are struggling with persistent staff shortages since the pandemic — particularly special education specialists, aides and resource staff. These schools are less able to intervene to help support children in crisis. Instead, they are more likely to have higher suspension rates. In this webinar, we’ll hear from reporters doing important new investigations on child mental health and school discipline, provide insights on how to identify inequities, and highlight alternative approaches — and the barriers they’re running up against. We’ll also spotlight story ideas and reporting angles that reporters in every community can pursue.
This webinar is free and made possible by the Kristy Hammam Fund for Health Journalism.
Panelists
Jessica Seaman is a K-12 education reporter for The Denver Post. She joined the Post in 2018 as a health reporter, and took on the education beat in 2021. She covered the coronavirus pandemic and her story about a Colorado teen with long COVID was named a Livingston Awards Finalist in 2022. Jessica led the Post’s Crisis Point project, which examined teen suicide in Colorado and published in 2020. She was named a National Fellow for the Center for Health Journalism at USC Annenberg for her coverage of teen suicide in 2019. A native of North Carolina, Jessica joined The Post after reporting stints in North Carolina and Arkansas. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Rachel M. Perera is a fellow in the Governance Studies program for the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings. Her research examines how racial and socioeconomic inequalities develop in K-12 education and the consequences of policies designed to reduce educational inequality. Her current work focuses on civil rights and education, school discipline, and COVID-19 recovery. She also studies the politics of education policymaking, examining issues related to private school choice and charter schools as well as school boards. She earned her Ph.D. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School, where she was a National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellow. Perera also holds an M.P.A. from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and a B.A. in history and political science from Hofstra University. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Perera spent five years with Teach For America, most recently serving as director of research partnerships.
Suggested reading
“Suspensions in Colorado schools jump 25% as districts struggle to staff since pandemic,” by Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post
“Black students are still kicked out of school at higher rates despite reforms,” by Annie Ma and Cheyanne Mumphrey, AP
“Schools face pressure to take harder line on discipline,” by Annie Ma and Ben Finley, AP
“The long-term consequences of school suspension and expulsion on depressive symptoms,” by Alexia Angton et al., Advances in Life Course Research, September 2024
“Exclusive: Watchdog finds Black girls face more frequent, severe discipline in school,” by Claudia Grisales, NPR
GAO: Nationally, Black Girls Receive More Frequent and More Severe Discipline in School than Other Girls (September 2024)
“School Suspension and Expulsion: Policy Statement,” policy statement via American Academy of Pediatrics, October 2024
“Learning Curve: Severe school discipline spiked in Texas after pandemic, vaping law,” by by Brooke Kushwaha, Houston Landing
“Biden administration issues civil rights guidance on school discipline,” by By Moriah Balingit and Donna St. George, The Washington Post
“Efforts to reform school discipline in California peter out,” by Megan Myscofski, CapRadio
“From Retributive to Restorative,” via the University of Chicago’s Education Lab