The Preschool Exclusionary Discipline Study

About 1.45 million children are enrolled in public pre-K programs. Of these, 3,128 pre-K children were expelled or suspended at least once from U.S. public pre-K programs. Thus, across the U.S. in 2017-2018, there were about 2.15 pre-K students suspended or expelled for every 1,000 enrolled in U.S. public school pre-K programs.

 In 2017-2018, there were about 30,000 pre-K programs public school programs in the U.S. that reported enrollment. Of these, about 5.3% reported using ExD. Although the national rate of use of ExD in public school pre-K programs was just over 2 per 1,000 pre-K children enrolled, the rates varied when calculated at the state level -- ranging from or near 0 in many states to a high of 13.07 per 1,000 students enrolled in South Carolina (see figure below).

We also compared the rates in use of ExD in the new 2017-2018 data set to those in the 2015-2016 data collection. By our calculations, it is noteworthy that the rate of use of ExD in U.S. public school pre-K programs dropped by almost 50% from a rate of 4.48 per 1,000 enrolled in 2015-2016 to the 2.15 per 1,000 enrolled in the data reported two years later.

As can be seen in the following figure, the reported ExD usage rates in pre-K dropped for almost all states, with some states showing large drops in rates (e.g., NV, SC). There were several states that showed an increase in rates (e.g., FL, KY).

As noted in the following table, rates of reported use of ExD in U.S. pre-K programs varied by race/ethnicity and for boys and girls. For all pre-K schools, the rate for Black children (per 1,000 enrolled) was about 2.7 times higher than those for White children and almost 6 times higher than those for Latino children. Across all PK-schools, the ExD rate for American Indian/Alaska Native was about 1.6 times higher than those for White children, whereas those for Asian students were the lowest of any of the groups of children. Additionally, the rate of use of ExD for boys was about 4 times higher than those for girls. Rate of ExD for children with disabilities was moderately high relative to the other rates. Similar patterns were found when we looked only at those pre-K programs that reported at least 1 case of ExD, but note the dramatically higher rates for these pre-K programs compared to the rates for all programs combined. 

We also examined how rates of pre-K ExD compared to those in K-12*** in the same school. Across all U.S. public schools with pre-K programs, the average rate of ExD for pre-K children was significantly lower (p < .001; controlling for size of enrollment) than the rate for K-12 students at the same school (about 10% the average rate of those K-12 students; yellow bars in figure). However, for those children in pre-K programs that reported at least 1 case of ExD, these pre-K students were likely to be suspended or expelled at rates that were not significantly different from those for their fellow K-12 students in the same school (red bars in figure). These findings suggest that the use of ExD in pre-K likely is reflective of the school culture towards the use of such practices. These findings have implications for policy development and interventions and suggest that these should be directed at the entire school culture, as well as for individual teachers and administrators. Once again, note that when pre-K programs reported at least 1 case of ExD, the overall average ExD rates were dramatically higher.

The raw number of cases of ExD in US public pre-K programs remain a concern, but these numbers reflect only those cases reported and it is likely that there are ‘soft’ cases of ExD. Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that the CRDC data reflect only the use of ExD in public school pre-K programs – not private pre-K programs, child care, or programs for younger children. Thus, there are significantly more cases of the use of ExD in early childhood that are not identified in the CRDC data set. Moreover, although most pre-K public school programs in the U.S. did not report the use of ExD with their students, when a program did use ExD, it tended to do so at an alarmingly high rate. This is why it is so important to better understand the use of ExD in pre-K so that we can rethink the ways in which we foster the health and well-being of our youngest learners. 

The PEDS team is committed to examining and closing disparities in the use of ExD in schools, and ultimately eliminating its use altogether. Importantly, we recognize that there are historical systemic legacies of racism and bias that relate to the use of discipline in U.S. schools, including pre-K programs. As such, we acknowledge that our goal will not be easily or quickly achieved. 

To join the PEDS distribution list, or for more information, contact us at  PEDS@asu.edu . 

Some resources related to ExD in Pre-K Programs:

•  https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/publication/understanding-eliminating-expulsion-early-childhood-programs  https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/series/preventing-expulsion-from-preschool-and-child-care 
•  https://www.naeyc.org/standing-together-against-suspension-expulsion-early-childhood-resources 
•  https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/rethink-discipline-resource-guide-supt-action.pdf 
•  https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/index.html 
•  https://www.instituteforchildsuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ICS-2018-PreschoolSuspensionBrief-WEB.pdf