Suspensions
Suspensions measures the number of students receiving out-of-school suspensions across all public and charter schools in the St. Louis region. In 2015, there were 24,099 students who received one or more out-of-school suspensions in the four-county region, about 9% of all students.
Suspensions Indicator Scores
City of
St. Louis
St. Louis
County
St. Charles
County
St. Clair
County
Data Source: Civil Rights Data Collection, U.S. Department of Education, 2015
What does this score mean?
A score of 100 represents racial equity, meaning there are no racial disparities in the outcomes between black and white populations. The lower the Equity Score, the greater the disparity.
For Suspensions, a score of 100 – a score reflecting racial equity – would mean black students and white students are equally likely to receive out of school suspensions. It is important to note that for this indicator, equity is not our only goal; we also want to improve outcomes for all.
WHAT DOES THIS ANALYSIS MEAN?
Out-of-school suspensions is the lowest scoring indicator in the Education Quality topic for 3 out of the 4 counties studied. Black students are over 6.5 times more likely than white students to receive an out-of-school suspension. Black students in the City of St. Louis are over three times as likely to receive suspensions as white students (15.4% relative to 4.7%). In St. Charles County, they are four times as likely to receive suspensions as white students (7.6% relative to 1.9%). In St. Louis County, the disparity between white suspensions and black suspensions is over six times (19.2% of suspensions are of black students, while 3.1% are of white students). In St. Clair County, black students are over seven times as likely to be suspended as white students (25.1% relative to 3.5%).
If suspension rates were equitable, the number of suspensions of black students
- 2,859 in St. Louis County,
- 251 in St. Charles County,
- 3,715 in St. Clair County, and
- 8,136 in St. Louis County.
Why Do Suspensions Matter?
Unnecessary and excessive out-of-school suspensions remove students from the opportunity to learn. According to research cited in the Ferguson Commission’s report: “In addition to hurting academic performance, this disproportionate discipline of Black students lowers teacher expectations and has been shown to increase the likelihood of future incarceration.”
WHICH CALLS TO ACTION FROM THE FERGUSON COMMISSION’s REPORT ARE LINKED WITH THIS INDICATOR?
The Ferguson Commission made the following calls to action related to suspensions:
Questions for Further Investigation:
- Why is there a racial disparity in Suspensions?
- What can St. Louis do to reduce racial disparities in Suspensions?
- What initiatives are currently underway to reduce racial disparities in Suspensions?
How can I learn more about this issue?
The Keeping Kids in the Classroom initiative is led by area social justice and education-focused organizations, including Metropolitan Congregations United and Ready by 21 with support from Forward Through Ferguson. In 2015, the initiative shared social district-level data on racial disparities in suspension rates in the St. Louis region. That same year, the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA published a national study on discipline rates that found schools in Missouri, particularly those in the St. Louis region, have some of the highest suspension rates in the country. In 2017, the ACLU published a report on Missouri’s School to Prison Pipeline. The ACLU found that black students in Missouri were more than four times as likely to receive an out-of-school suspension than white students. Yet, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found little evidence of statewide racial disparities in discipline rates in their June 2018 Educator Equity Plan.
Regional Health Commission’s (RHC) Alive and Well STL is a community-wide effort focused on reducing the impact of stress and trauma on our health and well-being, including the impact of suspensions.
St. Louis University’s Shut it Down initiative provides racial equity and implicit bias education for teachers, so that they have a better understanding of their student’s lives, including trauma and community stressors, like suspensions, that they experience, in order to improve their educational performance.
Suspensions Data
Out-of-school suspension rate for students
| All | Black | White | Disparity Ratio | Equity Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Out-of-School Suspensions | 4,504 | 4,110 | 239 | ||
Students | 34,520 | 26,620 | 5,049 | ||
Suspension Rate | 13.00% | 15.40% | 4.70% | 3.262 to 1 | 32 |
Data Source: Civil Rights Data Collection, U.S. Department of Education, 2015
Out-of-school suspension rate for students
| All | Black | White | Disparity Ratio | Equity Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Out-of-School Suspensions | 12,860 | 9,716 | 2,242 | ||
Students | 140,257 | 50,626 | 71,885 | ||
Suspension Rate | 9.20% | 19.20% | 3.10% | 6.194 to 1 | 16 |
Data Source: Civil Rights Data Collection, U.S. Department of Education, 2015
Out-of-school suspension rate for students
| All | Black | White | Disparity Ratio | Equity Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Out-of-School Suspensions | 1,465 | 333 | 908 | ||
Students | 59,371 | 4,398 | 48,643 | ||
Suspension Rate | 2.50% | 7.60% | 1.90% | 4.0 to 1 | 27 |
Data Source: Civil Rights Data Collection, U.S. Department of Education, 2015
Out-of-school suspension rate for students
| All | Black | White | Disparity Ratio | Equity Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Out-of-School Suspensions | 5,270 | 4,315 | 696 | ||
Students | 41,235 | 17,185 | 19,936 | ||
Suspension Rate | 12.80% | 25.10% | 3.50% | 7.171 to 1 | 12 |
Data Source: Civil Rights Data Collection, U.S. Department of Education, 2015