"Statement of the Problem": Almost half of children in the United States have been exposed to childhood trauma (McIntosh, 2019). Discipline practices in many schools are often ineffective with and inappropriate for students who have experienced trauma. For example, students who are disciplined in traditional ways often continue to…

It is important for school leaders to understand how students who identify as belonging to specific races, ethnicities, or cultures experience school climate. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the perceptions of school leaders on their culturally responsive leadership (CRSL) practices and discipline actions. This study…

Academic and behavioral interventions used in classrooms and schools may decrease the number of Black adolescents referred for and receiving special education services in grades 9-12. School leaders and teachers that work together to understand the different supports available, as well as, how to apply them in the schools and classrooms prior to a…

Researchers indicate that there is a need to address disproportional discipline in schools. As the landscape of some schools change the question becomes, how does cultural mismatch in school affect discipline? This dissertation contributes to the conversation on cultural mismatch in the classroom and its effects on discipline. The researcher…

African American students, despite over four decades of research and reports, still receive the highest percentage of school discipline infractions (i.e., office referrals, in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement) than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Isolating and…

Disparity exists in disciplinary actions taken toward Black students compared to White students in the public schools of a county school district in a Southwest U.S. state. Successful school leadership practices are needed to minimize the disproportionality of Black students being expelled, suspended, and routed to the school-to-prison pipeline.…

Many public urban K-12 schools are in neighborhoods that struggle with systemic social injustices that include poverty, racism, violence, and lack of meaningful opportunities. These realities threaten students' success in school and contribute to injustices in the school system, such as disproportionality in discipline for students of color. In…

In U.S. school districts, African American special-education students are disciplined more heavily than other students. This case study examined how a suburban high school district in Southern California addressed disproportionality and significant disproportionality in the discipline of African American students with disabilities. The study…

The study was conducted in two suburban middle schools. These schools are located in a very diverse public school district in Middlesex County New Jersey. Like many school districts throughout this country, many African American male students are experiencing school and schooling differently based on the differences still seen in the number of…