KIDS COUNT Data Feature: Gap in School Discipline between Black and White Students is Widening

by Kids Forward | October 29, 2012

Home 9 WisKids Count 9 KIDS COUNT Data Feature: Gap in School Discipline between Black and White Students is Widening

Black students in Wisconsin are much more likely to receive school discipline that White students, and the gap is widening, according to figures from the state’s Department of Public Instruction.

In 2010-11, about one out of every 20 students in Wisconsin was suspended from school. But that number conceals significant racial disparities between Black and White students. In the most recent school year, about one out of every four Black students was suspended. Black students were suspended at a rate nearly ten times that of White students last year, an increase from 1998-99 when Black students were five times more likely than White students to be suspended.

Far fewer students are expelled than suspended, but expulsions in Wisconsin show a similar pattern when broken down by race. About one out of every 75 students was expelled last year in Wisconsin. For Black students, one of every 16 students was expelled, compared to one out of every 140 White students. That means Black students were about 9 times more likely than White students to be expelled, an increase from the 1998-99 school year when Black students were three times more likely than White students to be expelled.

The interactive data feature below shows suspension and expulsion rates by race and ethnicity, and lets you explore how differences among groups have changed over time. If you are receiving this blog post via email, you will have to go to the blog’s website for the chart to function.

Tamarine Cornelius

Dashboard 1

Join us to build a Wisconsin where every child and family thrives.

Recent

Fact Sheet: Every Healthy Baby Starts with Healthy Parents

Fact Sheet: Every Healthy Baby Starts with Healthy Parents

The below fact sheet was developed by Kids Forward with the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Download as PDF Providing postpartum Medicaid coverage for 12 months will help ensure both parents and babies in Wisconsin thrive together....

WEBINAR: A State Budget that Works for Every Kid

WEBINAR: A State Budget that Works for Every Kid

Rebuild. Reclaim. Reimagine Wisconsin A State Budget that Works for Every Kid Wednesday, April 212-1:30pm CST Register Now In February, Governor Evers named 2025 the "Year of the Kid" while introducing his proposed budget.   We're thrilled to hear it!   The state...

Our Response to Governor Evers’ Budget Proposal

Our Response to Governor Evers’ Budget Proposal

Last night, Governor Evers shared a budget that starts to address some of the challenges confronting families across the state. During the “Year of the Kid,” we look forward to working on both sides of the aisle to ensure that the state budget includes every kid in...

Sign up for Emails

Your address helps us identify your legislators and the most relevant messages to send you.