The Problem

Rooted in the “tough on crime” rhetoric, stricter and more punitive discipline policies made their way into schools in the 1990s under the Clinton administration. The adoption of zero-tolerance policies (ZTP) was introduced following well-publicized violent incidents (e.g., Columbine), the perceived increases in violence in U.S. schools, and the passing of federal legislation (i.e., the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994) that mandated schools to expel any student for at least one year for possessing a weapon on school grounds and provided financial incentives for schools who enacted ZTP. Formerly used to address the most egregious and problematic behaviors, the expansion of ZTP has led to the use of exclusionary discipline (e.g., suspension and expulsion) to punish students for violations of relatively minor behavior. Additionally, despite the promise of ZTP, research has generally found that ZTPs are largely ineffective and disproportionately punish Black students.

While the disproportionate suspension of Black males has been the focus of much contemporary scholarship, less attention has been devoted to the punishment of Black girls. This omission is particularly notable given that within the past decade, Black girls have experienced the fastest growing suspension rate among all students. As a result, an emerging body of research has begun to explore why Black girls are subject to disproportionate disciplinary practices. Scholars have found that, due to their marginalization at the nexus of both race and gender, Black girls are particularly vulnerable to experiencing inequitable treatment in schools.

The Research Evidence

Within the past decade Black girls have experienced the fastest growing suspension rate of all students; and nationally Black girls experience higher suspension rates than girls of different races and most boys of other races. According to the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, in the 2015– 2016 school year Black girls composed 8 percent of all students but were 14 percent of those suspended and 10 percent of students expelled, making them the only female racial/ethnic group to be disproportionately disciplined. These disparities in suspension begin as early as pre-school, where Black pre-school girls are suspended at a higher rate than any other group. In 2017, Black pre-school girls represented approximately 20 percent of the national female preschool enrollment population, but constituted 54 percent of female suspensions.