Discipline, Behavior, and School Climate

Trends in Discipline Collection 

During the 2022-2023 school year, there were 118,254 behavior incidents and 96,218 students received one or more disciplinary action. 

The number of behavior incidents has seen large fluctuations during the last three years due to the pandemic, but the incident count in the past two school years is similar to the ranges seen in the 2016-2019 school years.  

In terms of disciplinary actions, most exclusionary discipline actions have decreased during the 2022-2023 school year, with the exception of suspensions which have had a slight increase over the years. 

Regarding the demographic information of students disciplined in the last school year, the proportion of students in each category is similar to past years, except for race/ethnicity that has had a shift from the highest category of students disciplined being White to Hispanic or Latino. 

Male students accounted for 68% of those disciplined, students in 7th and 8th grade accounted for 33% of those disciplined, and Hispanic or Latino and White students accounted for 83% of those disciplined. 

Nationally, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights reported the following statistics regarding disciplinary trends across the country: Discipline most commonly includes students of color and students with disabilities. In addition, "Disparities in student discipline begin as early as preschool and are widespread and persistent". In 2017-18, Black students accounted for 15% of student enrollment but 38% of students who received one or more out-of-school suspension. In 2017-18, students with disabilities accounted for 13% of student enrollment but 25% of students who received one or more out-of-school suspension. - U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Seeks Information on the nondiscriminatory administration of School Discipline, 2021