Black Girls' Pushout & Criminalization in Schools: New Data Hub

Across the United States, schools use various punitive discipline practices that result in students being removed from class, such as suspensions, expulsions, transfers to an alternative education setting, or referrals to law enforcement. These practices weaken students’ connection with school by depriving students of valuable learning time and creating an environment that erodes students’ well-being and sense of safety at school. These students often end up pushed out of school altogether, as research shows that punitive discipline practices are associated with poor student achievement and a failure to complete school. That is what the school-to-confinement pathway looks like. We also know that this disproportionately affects students of color, especially Black girls. To disrupt school-to-confinement pathways, schools must address the disciplinary practices that drive school pushout. To help schools, policymakers, practitioners, & advocates put into place evidence-informed solutions that enhance the safety and wellbeing of Black girls & gender-expansive youth, the National Black Women's Justice Institute has created the Black Girls' Pushout from School Data Hub (https://www.nbwji.org/school-pushout-.... Using data from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) from 2011- 2018, we highlight and address the issue of school pushout and harsh disciplinary practices that disproportionately affect Black girls. Here we introduce and demonstrate this new data tool and discuss how schools, policymakers, practitioners, & advocates can use this in their work. Featuring: Dr. Monique Couvson, President & CEO, Grantmakers for Girls of Color (https://g4gc.org/), and Founder & Board Chair, National Black Women's Justice Institute Ashley C. Sawyer, Senior Staff Attorney, Advancement Project (https://advancementproject.org/) Dr. Janaé Bonsu-Love, Director of Research & Advocacy, National Black Women's Justice Institute (https://www.nbwji.org/) Khaila Mickens, Research Associate, National Black Women's Justice Institute