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School-to-prison pipeline: an all-out assault on Black males in U.S. K-12 public schools

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School-to-prison pipeline: an all-out assault on Black males in U.S. K-12 public schools

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Content School-to-Prison Pipeline: An All-Out Assault on Black Males in U.S. K-12 Public Schools
Zatiti Moody
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
May 2024

© Copyright by Zatiti Moody 2024
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Zatiti Moody certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Alan Green
Jerome Rucker
Briana Hinga, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2024

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Abstract
This study investigated the way systemic racism affects the decisions made by school personnel
when disciplining Black male high school students using exclusionary disciplinary practices of
suspension or expulsion. It examined the disproportionate use of disciplinary practices excluding
Black male students from school rather than the use of alternative approaches to address
behavioral issues, such as restorative justice practices. This study identified that exclusionary
discipline practices inhibit learning, creating conditions conducive to criminal behaviors (Anyon
et al., 2016; Agudelo et al., 2021). Critical race theory and African American male theory
provided the theoretical framework for the study by explaining the effects of systemic racism on
institutions such as schools (Stavrou & Murphy, 2021; Stefancic & Delgado, 2010). It adopted a
critical narrative research design to guide data collection using interviews with 10 school
personnel responsible for making decisions and from documents related to disciplining Black
male students at two urban high schools. I analyzed the data using narrative thematic analysis.
The finding shows that antiBlackness embedded in school culture influenced decisions to
suspend or expel Black males more often than other racial groups. Therefore, restorative justice
practices should be recommended to reduce the incidence of expulsion by improving
relationships and connecting the school community.
Keywords: African American male theory; Black male students; critical race theory;
expulsion from school; out-of-school suspension; in-school suspension; restorative justice;
school discipline; school-to-prison pipeline

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Dedication
To my village in Paterson, New Jersey and beyond, I could not have achieved this
milestone without your support, guidance, encouragement, and love. To my beautiful wife Dawn
and our amazing children Kiana, Khadija, and Akil I thank you all for your sacrifice,
understanding, and unconditional love you expressed throughout this doctoral journey. To my inlaws Mr. and Mrs. James and Sharon Briggs, Jimmy, Kelly, Janai, Tre, and Jordyn thank you all
for pushing me to embark upon this voyage to set a precedent for our family that anything is
possible. To my Alonzo “Tambua” Moody Academy Paterson Public Schools family, I thank
you for your patience and willingness to lift me up as you all assumed extra responsibilities to
support our extremely important work. To Ms. Dianne Galliina and Dr. Hafiz Saleem, thank you
both for your keen insight, wisdom, and your willingness to offer your experiential knowledge
has been invaluable. To my cohort 21 colleagues, my reading group, and my underground
railroad study group, I want to thank you all for your tenacity and brilliance as you all represent
what I have often referred to as the “wisdom in the room.” An incredibly special thank you to my
mother Sarah Kimaada Moody, my father Alonzo “Tambua” Moody, my brothers, and their
families Malik, Saraida, and Makayla, as well as Kwesi, Jaime, Kaleb, and Samirah, thank you
for giving me life and a purpose worth living for.

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Acknowledgments
This dissertation is a personal milestone and an arduous labor of love, which is a result of
my village who raised me to believe that there is no single person who is more impactful or more
powerful than the entirety of the village/community. There is no one finger that is more powerful
than the hand that creates the fist of power. Therefore, I must acknowledge my village that is so
nice that I had to mention them twice. Thank you to my immediate family; (Mom) Sarah
Kimaada Moody, (Dad) Alonzo “Tambua” Moody, my beautiful wife Dawn and our amazing
children Kiana, Khadija, and Akil. My brothers and their families Malik, Saraida and Makayla,
Kwesi, Jaime, Kaleb, and Samirah. To my in-laws Mr. and Mrs. James and Sharon Briggs,
Jimmy, Kelly, Janai, Tre, and Jordyn. To my amazing cohort 21 colleagues, my reading group
Lloyd, Nicole, Linda, Mollie, Meghan, Josie, Nely, Zul, Lynette (R.I.P.), and Theresa (The
G.O.A.T.) Lucas and to my underground railroad study group Brandi, Aaron, Flip Phone Eric,
Prince Eric, General Andraus, and Ed. Lastly to the phenomenal professors who brought this
information to life for me I thank you all so very much for allowing us to learn from the wisdom
that was already in the room and understanding that in order to make sense of the new
knowledge we acquired we needed to engage with it among ourselves before we could take our
innovations into the world. Thank you to USC and its shining stars: Dr. Brianna Hinga 4
President, Dr. Datta, Dr. Woods, Dr. Lucas, Dr. Phillips, Dr. Malloy, Dr. Tobey, Dr. DeCuirGunby, Dr. Bihr, Dr. Foulk, Dr. Donato, Dr. Chatham, Dr. Riddick, Dr. Pritchard and so many
more who organized the OCL program. Thank you all for the phenomenal experience and always
continue to “FIGHT ON!!!!!!

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Table of Contents
Abstract 4Dedication 5Acknowledgments 6List of Tables 8List of Figures
9List of Abbreviations 10Chapter One: Overview of the Study 1Background
of the Problem2Statement of the Problem 6Purpose of the Study 7Significance of the Study
8Definition of Terms 9Organization of the Study 10Chapter Two: Review of the
Literature 12Theory and Framework 34African American Male Theory 37Conclusion
44Chapter Three: Methodology 46Research Questions46Overview of the Design
47Sample and Population 49Instrumentation 51Data Collection 54Data
Analysis 56Trustworthiness, Credibility, Dependability, Transferability, and
Confirmability59Positionality 62Summary 64Chapter Four: Results 66Participants
66Document Analysis68Results for Research Question 1: Philosophy, Perceptions, and
Experiences 69Discussion for Research Question 83Results for Research Question 2:
Exclusionary Practices, and Decision-Making 84Discussion for Research Question 2
97Results for Research Question 3: Restorative Teaching and Learning 99Discussion
for Research Question 3 108Summary 110Chapter Five: Discussion 112Findings
112Implications for Practice 118Future Research 121Limitations and Delimitations
122Conclusions 123References126Appendix A: Interview Protocol and Questions
140Appendix B: Recruiting Letter 144Appendix C: Informed Consent Form 145

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List of Tables
Table 1: Position, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity of Participants 67
Table 2: Comparison of Disciplinary Actions 69
Table A1: Interview Protocol 138

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List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework Based on Critical Race Theory 44

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List of Abbreviations
AAMT African American male theory
CRT Critical race theory
ISS In-school suspension
OSS Out-of-school suspension
PIC Prison industrial complex
SRO School resource officer, or police offer assigned to a school

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Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Schools in the United States have adopted punitive and exclusionary disciplinary policies
that have a disproportionately negative effect on Black male students (Basford et al., 2020; Dutil,
2020; Morgan, 2021b). School administrators often use harsh disciplinary methods to deal with
behavioral infractions by Black male students leading to out-of-school suspensions and possible
arrests in some cases (Brown et al., 2020). Disciplinary measures disrupt the education of the
student, impairing learning and creating a negative attitude towards schools (Pyne, 2019).
Students receiving an out-of-school suspension are also more likely to socialize with delinquent
peers and become involved with the justice system eventually leading to incarceration.
The term school-to-prison pipeline refers to the developmental pathway in which Black male
students excluded from schools for disciplinary reasons terminate in criminal behavior resulting
in prison (Dutil, 2020). The existence of the school-to-prison pipeline is rooted in the systemic
racism embedded in American society and institutions (McNeal, 2022). The racism has fostered
the perception that the behavior of Black males poses a threat to society in general and to school
safety requiring harsh measures to control such as exclusion from the school community (Muniz,
2020). The negative perception of Black males is the result of antiBlackness embedded in the
educational system (Sojoyner, 2013).
In this study, I focus on understanding the decision-making process among school
personnel resulting in exclusionary discipline practices for Black male students. Insight into the
perspectives of school personnel is important for the implementation of alternative disciplinary
approaches such as use of restorative justice methods to reduce the incidence of suspensions for
disciplinary breaches. Critical race theory (CRT) and African American male theory (AAMT)

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are used in this study as a framework for understanding the way social, legal, and institutional
factors promote use of exclusionary disciplinary practices for Black male students. The
following sections contain discussions of the background of the problem, the statement of the
problem, the purpose of the study, significance of the study, limitation and delimitations, and
definition of terms.
Background of the Problem
Black males have a substantially higher rate of incarceration than other races in the
United States. Approximately 1,100 Black males were incarcerated per 100,000 of population in
2018 compared to approximately 600 Hispanics and 250 Whites per 100,000 of population
(Carson, 2020). In the same year, 31.5% of the prison population was Black despite Black people
comprising 13.6% of the population. Black juveniles also have a higher rate of arrest than White
or Hispanic juveniles. In 2019, police officers arrested 696,620 juveniles for various crimes in all
jurisdictions, with 42% of the arrests involving Black youths (Puzzanchera, 2021). The data
suggests police disproportionality arrest, convict, and incarcerate Black people when compared
to other racial or ethnic groups.
Disciplinary practices in the schools leading to out-of-school suspensions for Black male
students have a correlation with subsequent arrest and imprisonment of students and former
students (Dutil, 2020). A direct relationship exists between an out-of-school suspension by the
age of 12 and association with criminal peers leading to involvement with the justice system by
age 19 (Novack, 2019). Students absent from school are generally unsupervised and have greater
opportunity to engage in criminal activity (Morgan, 2021b). An additional effect of exclusionary
disciplinary practices is lower commitment to education and higher risk of dropping out of

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school, which contributes to criminal behaviors (Basford et al., 2020). Students excluded from
schools because of disciplinary infractions develop negative attitudes towards education and
disengagement from the school community further undermining their desire to continue
attending school (Pyne, 2019). Although exclusionary disciplinary practices in the schools is not
the only factor resulting in arrests and incarceration of Black males, inequalities in education and
administration of exclusionary punishments for breach of discipline create a foundation for
increased involvement with criminal activities and eventual involvement with the justice system
(Felix, 2022).
School personnel disproportionately use exclusionary practices with Black students. Data
compiled by Morgan (2021b) indicated that in 2014, 13.7% of Black students received an out of
school suspension compared to 3.4% of White students for the same disciplinary breach. School
administrators and school resource officers (SROs) are also more likely to refer Black students to
the juvenile justice system over illegal behaviors in schools such as possession of insignificant
amounts of drugs. Black male students account for 33.9% of the arrests by SROs in schools and
29.4% of referrals to the juvenile justice system by school administrators and SROs (Galan et al.,
2022). The disproportionality in the use of exclusionary disciplinary practices implicitly
communicates to Black students that racial bias influences their treatment in ostensible unbiased
institutions (Marcucci, 2020). The racial bias reflects the antiBlackness ethos permeating the
education system (Sojoyner, 2013). The outcome for many Black male students from recognition
that antiBlackness racial bias may be behind disciplinary decisions is hostility towards the school
and disregard for the importance of learning in their lives (Jones et al., 2018).

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The use of punitive and exclusionary discipline practices for Black male students stems
from the growth of systematic institutional racism in the United States based on an antiBlack
ethos (Nelson & Williams, 2019; Sojoyner, 2013). Punitive laws and regulations to control the
behavior of Black people and other peoples of color originated with White European settlers
during the colonial period as part of the effort to claim and control land (MacKenzie, 2020). The
practices related to racial oppression and the treatment of Black people as chattel property were
embedded in the Constitution because of the acceptance of the practice of slavery. Many
oppressive practices continued after the passage of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments
freeing slaves and ostensibly guaranteeing legal equality in the wake of the Civil War. The Jim
Crow laws adopted in many states in the late nineteenth century and remaining in effect until the
mid-twentieth century criminalized behaviors by Black people that were legally acceptable for
White people (Epperly et al., 2020). Although laws have changed, many of the antiBlackness
attitudes and hostile behaviors of dominant White society remain entrenched in the practices of
individuals making decisions in institutions such as schools. The oppressive practices persist
because of the reluctance of dominant White society to relinquish its privileges and because of
fear among White people perceiving the behaviors of Black people as threatening (McNeal,
2022; Saito, 2020). Consequently, the political and legislative system perpetuates antiBlackness
sentiment and undermines efforts for substantive change in institutions (Sojoyner, 2013).
Further contributing to punitive disciplinary practices for Black students is the paradigm
adopted by school administrators that harsh methods are necessary to protect students and staff
from violence (Muniz, 2020). Infrequent events such as rampage shootings of random victims by
students foster the fear of violence and provide the rationale for school administrators to adopt

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policies supporting suspension and expulsion of students for aggressive and violent behavior.
Schools have often implemented zero-tolerance policies mandating suspensions for relatively
minor behavioral infractions (Milner, 2019). School personnel often inequitably administer zerotolerance policies because of racially inspired fears among White teachers and administrators of
violence by Black students (Henry et al., 2022). The fear of violence has also led to an increased
police presence in schools through SROs, which has resulted in the criminalization of many of
the behaviors that were previously considered an internal school matter (Butler, 2022). The
presence of SROs in a school has an association with increased use of punitive and exclusionary
disciplinary methods by teachers and administrators (Brown et al., 2020). Consequently, the
juvenile justice system overlaps with school administration to create an environment
unsympathetic to Black students (Lynch & Chappell, 2021).
The punitive exclusionary practices associated with zero-tolerance policies and presence
of SROs are based on racialized concepts of student behavior and fail to consider restorative
justice as a practical alternative to suspension or expulsion to address Black male student
behavioral issues (Basford et al., 2020; Fronius et al., 2019; Sojoyner, 2013). Restorative justice
is a general term used to describe the various methods for institutions to use non-punitive
approaches to discipline based on relationships (Fronius et al., 2019). The restorative approach
uses collaboration with peers and school personnel to address the issues leading to the
disciplinary breach. Restorative justice can involve an entire school through training and
education for staff and students or can function as an addition to traditional disciplinary methods.
The objective is to develop a school community with interconnected relationships (Tyner, 2020).
The school personnel treat breaches of discipline as a breakdown in the relationship between the

6
individual and other members of the community. Increasing the sense of connection of the
student through relationships with members of the school community can lead to reduced
disciplinary breaches and improved learning outcomes (Hall et al., 2021). The restorative justice
approach to discipline ensures the student breaching discipline has some accountability for
behaviors while remaining a part of the school community through a reconciliation process
(Tyner, 2020). This process attempts to make everyone feel whole, so they feel a sense of
belonging, connected to the overall community.
Statement of the Problem
The specific problem investigated in this study is the decision-making processes of
school personnel resulting in the disproportionate use of punitive exclusionary disciplinary
practices with Black male students. Previous research has established the negative effect of
school suspensions as a means to maintain discipline in the schools that include disruption of
learning and increasing the likelihood of involvement with the justice system (Milner, 2019;
Fronius et al., 2019). Previous research has also established that antiBlackness bias embedded in
American society and its institutions such as schools plays a role in the disproportionate use of
exclusionary discipline with Black male students (Epperly et al., 2020; King et al., 2019; Saito,
2020). An area in which less is known is the perspectives and biases influencing the decisions of
school personnel responsible for disciplining Black male students. Consequently, there is
insufficient understanding of the factors school personnel consider when determining if out-ofschool suspension or expulsion is appropriate for a disciplinary infraction by a Black male
student.

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The problem involves the rationale of school personnel for selecting punitive and
exclusionary methods for disciplining Black male students rather than using an alternative such
as restorative justice approaches. Based on voluminous research, educators should be aware of
the academic, civic, and social harm caused by suspension of students and particularly for Black
male students (Pyne, 2019). Yet educators persist in the use of suspensions and expulsions as a
means to maintain control over student behavior. Gaining an understanding of the decisionmaking process of school personnel when disciplining Black male students is necessary to
address issues of racial bias and to promote the use of restorative justice or other approaches to
discipline.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative critical narrative inquiry study is to investigate the
attitudes and perspectives influencing school personnel responsible for making disciplinary
decisions for Black male students that ultimately contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Through the use of critical narrative inquiry methods and data obtained from interviews with
school personnel responsible for student discipline, I investigated the perceptions toward
exclusionary disciplinary practices for Black male students and the alternative of restorative
justice. Critical narrative inquiry involves development of counter-stories challenging the
validity of beliefs and myths used to rationalize behaviors oppressing minorities.
The three research questions that guided this study are:
1. RQ1: How do school personnel explain the process in their school for implementing
discipline for Black students?

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2. RQ2: How are decisions made to suspend or expel Black male students from school
for disciplinary infractions?
3. RQ3: How do school personnel regard the use of restorative teaching and learning
practices for changing the exclusionary practices feeding the school-to-prison
pipeline?
Critical race theory provides the explanatory framework for the study. A fundamental
proposition of CRT is that race is a social construct used by a dominant White population to
oppress a minority population of color (Allen & White-Smith, 2014). The historical position of
White social dominance and Black slavery has made racism and antiBlackness an inherent part
of the institutions in the United States. Increasing understanding of the way racism impacts
organizations such as schools is necessary to develop approaches to eliminate or reduce the
effect of racism and antiBlackness (Dutil, 2020). Critical narrative research is used to investigate
phenomena through a CRT lens. The development of counter-stories with the critical narrative
supports challenging the way people create meaning in a particular social context by exposing
overt and covert power practices (Jorgenson & Largacha-Martinez, 2014).
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study filled a gap in previous research concerning the attitudes and
perspectives of the individuals responsible for making disciplinary decisions leading to the
suspension or expulsion of Black male students. Previous studies have established that Black
male students disproportionately receive exclusionary punishments for disciplinary infractions
(Basford et al., 2020; Butler, 2022; Morgan, 2021b; Tosic, 2020). Research has also established a
correlation between exclusion of students from schools and involvement with the criminal justice
system, which is the basis for the school-to-prison pipeline analogy (Milner, 2019; Dutil, 2020).

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Previous studies have indicated that implicit racial bias and antiBlackness play a role in
disciplinary decisions concerning Black male students (Felix, 2022; McNeal, 2022). The
research, however, has not examined the attitudes and perspectives of the individuals making
disciplinary decisions in the schools from a CRT perspective. This study continued to build on
the work of previous researchers by focusing on the individuals responsible for discipline in
schools. The findings of the study contributed to existing research by providing insights about
the way racial myths and antiBlack bias impact school discipline, which is an important aspect of
education.
The implications of these findings are far-reaching. They challenge educators,
administrators, and other stakeholders to confront the entrenched biases and discriminatory
practices that pervade American schools. They also bring these issues to the forefront by
prompting a reevaluation of disciplinary approaches, urging a shift towards more equitable
practices such as restorative justice. Moreover, the findings have direct implications for Black
male students themselves. Addressing the root causes of discriminatory discipline practices,
schools can help dismantle the structures that contribute to the marginalization and
criminalization of Black youth. Finally, this study serves as a call to action, urging stakeholders
to actively work towards creating safer, more inclusive learning environments for all students.
Definition of Terms
The following definitions apply to terms used throughout the study.
Black is a term culturally and legally defined as any individual with African American
ancestry (Davis, 1991).

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Black students are students of color that may or may not also identify as African
American.
Discipline has a cultural definition of the process of punishment for infraction of rules
although the traditional definition in the context of education is corrective guidance to promote
learning (Reyneke, 2012).
Exclusionary disciplinary practices are any method of disciplining students for
infractions of school rules or policies resulting in the removal of the student from the school for a
period of time (Basford et al., 2020).
Intersectionality refers to individuals with multiple minority identities (Bell, 2018).
Prison industrial complex (PIC) is the group of government and corporations cooperating
to manage prisons in the United States. The system creates a financial incentive for corporations
to encourage the government to maximize the size of the incarcerated population (Hunt, 2020).
School resource officer (SRO) is the term applied to police officers permanently assigned
to schools to ensure students comply with the law (Heise & Nance, 2021).
School-to-prison pipeline is a term used to describe the process by which the adoption of
zero-tolerance and other disciplinary policies by schools directly and indirectly contributes to a
pathway for youth into the criminal justice system (Muniz, 2020).
Organization of the Study
The dissertation follows a five-chapter format. Chapter One provided an overview of the
dissertation with discussions concerning the background related to the school-to-prison pipeline,
a statement of the problem, the purpose and significance of the study, and the limitations and
delimitations. Chapter Two presents literature relevant to the historical development of racism,

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the prison-industrial complex (PIC), and the school-to-prison pipeline, the practices of schools
causing the exclusion of Black male students, and the impact on the lives of Black males.
Chapter Two also contains literature related to alternative disciplinary practices that do not
depend on exclusion such as use of restorative justice methods. Chapter Three provides the
details of the qualitative critical narrative inquiry design collecting data collected from
interviews with school personnel responsible for discipline and from school documents. Chapter
Three also describes the thematic analysis approach to analyzing the data and steps to ensure
validity and reliability. Chapter Four contains the results of the analysis of the data related to
each of the research questions and organized by themes contained in the data. Chapter Five
presents a summary and conclusions of the study, the implications for professional practice in
schools, and recommendations for future research.

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Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
Extensive literature exists concerning the disciplinary methods used in schools that have
a disproportionate impact on Black male students and lead to out-of-school suspensions (Basford
et al., 2020; Butler, 2022; Morgan, 2021b). The literature also considers the connection between
suspensions and the arrest of young Black males, which has become known as the school-toprison pipeline (Cuellar & Markowitz, 2015). The school-to-prison pipeline is currently used to
describe the system of imposing suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to the juvenile justice
system that results in decreased access to educational time and increased chances of future arrest
and incarceration (Dutil, 2020). The existence of this pathway is attributed largely to White
supremacy, which refers to the worldview that White people are superior to all other peoples in
all ways, including intelligence, morals, civilization, language, and appearance (Keisch & Scott,
2015). This worldview dehumanizes people of color and is the source of antiBlackness (Keisch
& Scott, 2015; Sojoyner, 2013). The following sections contain a discussion of the literature
related to the roots of the school-to-prison pipeline, experiences of survivance in the pipeline,
historical context of the problem, practices creating the school-to-prison pipeline, strategies for
eliminating the school-to-prison pipeline, challenges and barriers to implementing alternatives,
research based on CRT, and the conceptual framework for the study.
Historical Context
Although the intended outcome of education throughout history was to pass along
information from one generation to the next, the actual outcome was cultural division. The
concept of education has historically served to pass along information from one generation to the
next while establishing and reinforcing the concept of meritocracy (Patel, 2016). Meritocracy
refers to a system in which progress is based on ability rather than privilege and those with

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ability are rewarded for their work (Mijs, 2016). While this concept may seem reasonable, the
problem is that the opportunities for merit are often determined by non-meritocratic factors, such
as bias and racism (Mijs, 2016). Ultimately, a meritocracy elevates the status of some groups in
society while others remain disadvantaged (Mijs, 2016). In contrast to this purpose, Spring
(2016) identified the key function of education as having the ability to sort people into societal
positions through deculturalization. Spring (2016) described the concept of deculturalization as
the process of replacing a culture and a language with one that is considered superior. For
example, one way that schools have deculturized students is through the enforcement of a
common language, that of English (Spring, 2016). Historically, schools forbade immigrant
students from speaking their native languages, impressing upon them that the Anglo-American
culture was superior and forcing them to learn Anglo-American centered curricula (Spring,
2016). Thus, not only did schools impress upon students of color that their cultures were inferior
to that of the Anglo-American, but they also promoted students of the dominant culture over
others through the guise of meritocracy.
The outcome of these practices, and one that relates to the school-to-prison-pipeline, is
the denial of education. Spring (2016) defines this concept as the attempt by a group in power to
deny education to members of other cultures. Denial of education was overtly used throughout
education history to deny Black people, including slaves, an education (Spring, 2016).
Particularly significant were the efforts to undermine the aspirations for Black educational access
in the post-Civil War reconstruction process that reflected the antiBlackness ethos of White
society (Sojoyner, 2013). This tradition continues in modern schools in a more insidious manner,
as students of color are denied an education through disproportionate and racist discipline
practices, leading to exclusion from school. The school-to-prison pipeline, in which the

14
educational system perceives the behaviors exhibited by Black students as criminal (Love, 2019),
prevents students from participating in the system.
Deculturalization and the denial of education is grounded in White supremacy. White
supremacy is an inherently antiBlackness concept that permeates the actions and perspectives of
colonialism and supremacist ideologies, impacting all systems in society while perpetuating its
narrative of superior dominance (Tuck & Gaztambide-Fernández, 2013). This superiority
narrative reinforces the concept of White-settler privilege (Patel, 2016) that accounts for the fact
that approximately 80% of the teachers in the United States are White (Ladson-Billings & Tate,
2016). Understanding of the aforementioned dynamics behind the cultural clashes in the
classroom results in Black students being disproportionately disciplined at a higher rate than
White students (Monroe, 2006). Black students, particularly males, are often disciplined for
culturally based behaviors that are not intended to be disruptive or harmful (Monroe, 2006).
Furthermore, teachers routinely engage in practices that devalue the realities of the learner
(Andreotti, 2016). The culturally based views and practices related to discipline among White
school personnel can lead to the misinterpretation of behaviors that do not conform to their
expectations (Monroe, 2006). Love (2019) attributed teachers’ inability to effectively relate to
cultures of students of color to the widening discipline gap between Black and White students.
Roots of the School-to-Prison Pipeline
This disciplinary gap between Black and White students and the lack of cultural
competence among White teachers is grounded in White supremacy and privilege. The roots of
the school-to-prison pipeline can be traced to the marginalization of Black people from
antiBlackness. A strand of the literature considers the school-to-prison pipeline as an outcome of
implicit education policies marginalizing Black students and maintaining White supremacy

15
(Nelson & Williams, 2019). MacKenzie (2020) argued that the origins of marginalization of
Black students and other individuals based on skin color rests in White settler privilege, which is
the practice of Europeans coming to colonies to claim the land as their own and to create a
political, economic, and social system to oppress Indigenous people. In the early colonial period
of the United States, the White settlers imported African slaves as a source of inexpensive labor
to maintain the economic and social superiority of the White population (Saito, 2020).
The literature indicates that the legal structures of the United States including the
Constitution originally reflected supremacy of the White European settlers with the concept
continuing to exist despite Amendments after the Civil War to guarantee legal equality for
emancipated Black people (Wright, 2021). In a discussion of the roots of racial oppression of
which the school-to-prison pipeline is a component, Nelson and Williams (2019) argued that
Black people as chattel property was enshrined in the Constitution and has not substantially
changed despite the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. The Slave Codes enacted by the
various states before the Civil War created offenses specific to Black people that indirectly
became incorporated into the practices of White people after the Civil War. The Jim Crow laws
that were enforced in many states until the mid-20th century were fundamentally an extension of
the slave codes and intended to maintain White supremacy (Epperly et al., 2020). The extended
period of slavery and the laws and attitudes it fostered became a legacy of racial subjugation
persisting to the present time in the attitudes and practices of White people in positions of power
and authority. By the 1950s and 1960s, local government officials implicitly condoned antiBlack
violence, harassment, and de facto disenfranchisement (Sojoyner, 2013).
Critical race theory contains the proposition that the legacy of slavery is implicit White
supremacy in American institutions that prompts behaviors to continue the historic oppression of

16
Black people (Ray et al, 2017). From this perspective, the structure of the school as an institution
provides the power to administrators to engage in practices to maintain White supremacy such as
excluding Black people from education for minor disciplinary infractions. Another perspective of
the legacy of slavery comes from Afro-pessimism theory The theory contains the proposition
that antiBlackness rather than White supremacy explains the social conditions of Blacks in the
United States (Ray et al., 2017). The antiBlackness perpetuates the institution of slavery in a
different form with the intention of keeping Black peoples oppressed. Another basic premise of
Afro-pessimism is that White society has characterized civil disobedience by Black people as
evidence that Black people are the enemies of civil society (Randolph et al. 2018; Sojoyner,
2013). The positioning as Black male students as potential enemies of civil society implicitly
supports the rationale for punitive disciplinary practices in the schools that society views as a
modern form of Jim Crow laws.
Prison-Industrial Complex
White supremacy extends beyond classroom practices that impose harsh discipline at
disproportionate rates on Black students and into the prison system where these students may be
placed as a result. The prison-industrial complex (PIC) is the term used to describe the
government and businesses cooperating to provide incarceration services. The PIC can trace its
origins to the capture of state legislatures in the south by white supremacists during the 1890s
that remained in place until the civil rights movements of the 1960s (King et al. 2019). During
this period, the states enacted laws related to relatively minor offenses such as vagrancy or
criminal mischief leading to incarceration of increasing numbers of Black males. The prisons
used convicts/prisoners as contract labor for private businesses, creating a financial incentive to
increase incarceration through the operation of the capitalist system (Hunt, 2020).

17
The use of convicts/prisoners to work for different companies has persisted into modern
times as the older convict leasing system morphed into the current approach to mass
incarceration with prison workshops. Federal and state prisons now hold approximately two
million prisoners, many of whom work in prison supervised tasks to provide goods or services
for private companies. In 2018, Black prisoners represented 31.5% of the incarcerated population
despite the fact that Black people comprise only 13.6% of the total United States of America’s
population (Carson, 2020). This suggests the PIC system has a disproportionate impact on Black
citizens (Carson, 2020).
Felony disenfranchisement is also a factor fostering the continuation of the PIC. Many of
the Black people harmed by the system are unable to exert political influence during and after
incarceration (Huskinson & Long, 2022; King et al., 2019). The practice of felony
disenfranchisement originated in 1870 after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the
Constitution granting the right to vote former slaves as an approach to reducing the political
power of the newly emancipated slaves (Huskinson & Long, 2022). The Supreme Court has
upheld the constitutionality of felony disenfranchisement with the state’s ability to determine if
convicted felons can vote and the length of time disenfranchisement persists after a felony
conviction (King et al. 2019). As a result of felony disenfranchisement, approximately 5.5
million citizens were unable to participate in the 2022 national elections (Huskinson & Long,
2022).
Political control is not the only motivating factor behind the PIC; economics is a
significant driver. Prison labor programs may be promoted as a means of restorative justice,
rehabilitating, and training prisoners for life outside of prison (Cao, 2019), but one cannot ignore
the economic benefits to the PIC. The one million prisoners currently working in prison

18
workshops produce $500 million in sales per year by manufacturing products for the United
States government (Cao, 2019). The actual market for prison labor programs exceeds $1 billion
(Cao, 2019). Despite this large amount, federal prisons typically pay inmates no more than $4.73
per day for their labor (Cao, 2019). Private companies utilize prison labor as well. For example,
Whole Foods sells tilapia and cheese distributed by two companies that pay prisoners between
$0.74 and $4.00 per day (Cao, 2019). Other large companies such as Kmart, JCPenney,
Starbucks, and McDonalds rely on low-cost prison labor to turn corporate profits (Cao, 2019).
Just as during slavery, society continues to exploit Black labor for the benefit of others.
Survivance
To better understand the survival instincts of people who the world has brutally
oppressed, I researched the term “survivance.” In my research, I learned that Richard B. Lee and
Irven Devore originally authored a book in 1968 titled, “Man the Hunter” in which they assert
that the concept of human survival has been central to the human experience since prehistoric
times. Lee and Devore (1968) argued that early human societies primarily focused on acquiring
food and avoiding predators. These basic survival needs helped to shape the development of
human society and culture (Lee & Devore, 1968). Both Lee and Devore have cited the work of
various anthropologists and ethnographers who have studied preindustrial societies and found
that the main concern of these societies was to secure food and safety (Lee & Devore, 2017).
Scholars have since expounded on this idea of survival to account for the resilience of people
who implore their natural fight or flight response in the face of harm to their very existence.
Many scholars have studied the act of survival and have written about individuals and cultures
who not only survived grotesque oppression but resisted the atrocities of oppression in order to
maintain their values and beliefs for generations. In 1999, cultural theorist Gerald Vizenor

19
authored a book titled; “Manifest Manners: Narratives of Postindian Survivance” where he
detailed the plight of Indigenous people and their will to maintain their culture and existence.
According to Vizenor (1999), the intent of the term “Indigenous survivance” was to
remove the “al” from survival to add the “ance” survivance to signify the fact that the oppressed
people were actively surviving the oppressive state that they find themselves in. Vizenor (1999)
defined “survivance” as the opposite of victimization, where the oppressed does not accept their
condition but ultimately fights all forms of oppression through resistance. Originally, the term
“survivance” was a combination of survival and endurance but later became known as a
combination of both survival and resistance (Vizenor, 1999). In an interview with Postindian
warrior and activist; Russell Means said, “The only way to communicate with the white world is
through the dead, dry leaves of a book; we don’t want power over white institutions, we want
white institutions to disappear, that’s revolution” (Vizenor, 1999). Therefore, it is critical to note
that the concept of survivance is crucial to understanding the fact that oppressed people are not
only required to endure the oppressive ways of people and systems to survive, but equally
required to actively resist oppression in all forms in order to survive.
Fighting for Black Life
The literature concerning the school-to-prison pipeline contains numerous narratives of
Black resilience despite the barriers created by discrimination in schools contributing to
imprisonment (Butler, 2022; Irby, 2018; Jones et al., 2018). Many of the individuals traveling the
school-to-prison pipeline subsequently obtained education during or after incarceration. The
narratives indicate that the experience of discrimination and disproportionate punishment in
schools created a hostile environment preventing learning (McCarter et al., 2019).

20
Jones et al. (2018) collected ethnographic narratives of incarcerated individuals pursuing
education and the experiences of their instructors in the prison setting. The narrative of Christian
Ramirez indicates that he was expelled from school in the fourth grade for stealing and was
subsequently branded a troublemaker leading to ongoing harsh discipline in schools. He relied on
classroom disruption in subsequent grades to conceal his inability to read. He was arrested as a
juvenile for various infractions and eventually was sentenced to prison for 10 years for attempted
murder. In prison, however, he learned to read, earned a G.E.D., and was working towards an
associate degree, overcoming the educational barriers created in the school environment.
Anthony Ferguson’s narrative describes himself as hyperactive in school resulting in the use of
medications to calm him. He increasingly saw school as irrelevant and spent time with gang
members during middle and high school leading to expulsions from school. He was arrested 11
times as a teenager and was sentenced to 34 years in prison at age 17 for assault on police
officers. In prison he learned the value of education and embarked on a self-education journey,
rejecting the negative educational experiences of his past.
Irby (2018) also presented two narratives of survivance for Dion and Aaron who traveled
through the school-to-prison pipeline. Both Dion and Aaron gradually became disillusioned with
school that they perceived as containing rather than educating them. Dion was disruptive because
he vociferously objected to beatings from nuns that led to placement in a special school to instill
discipline. Aaron was very bright and rapidly became bored with school. Dion and Aaron
dropped out of school and were eventually arrested. It was only during and after their prison
experience they realized the educational system had marginalized them and they began to engage
with learning as adults.

21
Butler (2022) conducted phenomenological research with Black students with disabilities
who received out-of-school suspensions. The narratives indicate that intersectionality of
Blackness and disability create significant issues for high school students that lead administrators
to increase disciplinary encounters. The narratives also indicate that survivance involved a
combination of introspection concerning the actual cause of a suspension or other disciplinary
measure and resistance to stigmatization by school officials and by police.
Using a case study methodology Welton and Harris (2022) investigated the effectiveness
of student activism for resisting and changing some of the factors producing the school-to-prison
pipeline. The activism led to the elimination of police in schools and a system of staff
accountability for biased treatment of Black students. The difficulty the student activists faced
was challenging the entrenched power of the school administrators but prevailed because of
community support. The findings of Welton and Harris (2022) are consistent with the argument
of Sojoyner (2013) concerning the challenges to unraveling the school-to-prison process because
of school policies used to maintain anti-Black racism.
Building on the Legacy of Survivance
The accounts of survivance focus on the individual or micro-level factors resulting in the
school increasing the risk of future incarceration for Black male students (Butler, 2022; Irby,
2018; Jones, 2022; Welton & Harris, 2022). Research by McCarter et al. (2019) noted that a gap
in knowledge exists concerning macro-level policies and practices and the intersection of mesolevel variables such as neighborhood characteristics creating the school-to-prison pipeline for
Black students. My current research builds on the legacy of survivance by investigating the
effectiveness of restorative justice in schools as an alternative to exclusionary punishment for
Black students. The use of restorative justice practices together with training for teachers and

22
administrators in de-escalation techniques and awareness of implicit bias and microaggressions
could encourage more Black students to remain in school and eliminate the school-to-prison
pipeline.
Practices Creating the School-to-Prison Pipeline
A relationship exists between out-of-school suspension and violation of the law leading
to arrest and imprisonment for Black students (Milner, 2019; Dutil, 2020; Fronius et al., 2019).
Students who are not in school have unsupervised and unstructured time that can lead to criminal
activities (Morgan, 2021b). Based on an analysis of data from a single school district and
juvenile justice records, Cuellar and Markowitz (2015) determined that out-of-school
suspensions more than double the probability of arrest. Evidence also indicates that expulsion
and out-of-school suspension are disproportionately used among Black males and females in
general and are highest among Black students with disabilities (Butler, 2022). Disproportionate
use of disciplinary penalties by school administrators increases the risk of Black students
experiencing racial trauma (Galan et al., 2022).
Cultural Clash in the Classroom
The cultural clash that exists in the classroom between teachers who have been trained
and deculturized by the racist institution of education further traumatize Black students. The
phenomenon that results from these clashing of cultures in the classroom is the school-to-prison
pipeline in which the educational system perceives the behaviors exhibited by Black students as
criminal (Love, 2019). The media and social discourse in the United States has created a racial
image of Black males as dangerous, violent, and reluctant to attend school as a rationale for the
criminalization of normal behaviors of young men (Basile et al., 2019). The racial image
implicitly accepted by many non-Black educators is consistent with the Afro-pessimism premise

23
that antiBlackness is a driving force for administrative decisions concerning discipline (Ray et
al., 2017). The criminalization of the normal behaviors of Black males in schools undermines the
educational process (Basile et al., 2019).
The educational process also challenges the validity of the culture of Black students
(Patel, 2016; Spring, 2016). The concept of education has historically served to pass along
information from one generation to the next while establishing and reinforcing the concept of
meritocracy (Patel, 2016). With respect to Black students, however, the actual concept of
education involves deculturization, which is a process in which a dominant racial or cultural
group forces a minority racial or cultural group to abandon its language, customs, and social
norms (Spring, 2016). When the process of deculturalization is incomplete, hybridity occurs in
which the minority culture retains some of its language, customs, and social norms (Spring,
2016).
In the context of the educational system in the United States, White supremacy is the
dominant racial and cultural norm involved with the deculturization of Black students. White
supremacy permeates the actions and perspectives of colonialism and supremacist ideologies
which impact all systems while perpetuating its narrative of superior dominance (Tuck &
Gaztambide-Fernández, 2013). A narrative associated with White Supremacy reinforces the
concept of White-settler privilege that has become an axiom of the dominant White culture
(Patel, 2016). Because 80% of the teachers in the United States, the White Supremacy narrative
is communicated in schools, which creates implicit pressures for Black students to abandon their
cultural norms and practices in favor of the dominant White culture (Ladson-Billings & Tate,
2016; Patel, 2016). The inability of White teachers to understand the culture of Black students
and the efforts to deculturize Black students results in culture clashes in the classroom and

24
disciplinary problems when Black students do not conform to the expectations of the White
Supremacy narrative (Love, 2019). Teachers exacerbate the culture clash and disciplinary
problems leading to the school-to-prison pipeline by routinely engaging in practices devaluing
the culture and understanding of reality of Black learners (Andreotti, 2019).
Zero-Tolerance Policy
Researchers consider the zero-tolerance policy adopted by schools as the major
contributor to the school-to-prison pipeline (Basford et al., 2020; Milner, 2019; Morgan 2021b).
The increased use of punitive disciplinary measures including out-of-school suspensions for
Black male students can be traced to the zero-tolerance policies schools adopted during the
1980s to contend with increasing drug use (Morgan, 2021b). As a result of the policy, many
students are suspended for non-violent infractions involving drug possession or relatively minor
behavioral issues. The passage of the Guns Free Schools Act in 1994 by the federal government
increased the rate of out-of-school suspensions (McNeal, 2022). Although the legislation was
intended to reduce violence in schools, administrators often have discretion to suspend students
for non-violent actions not related to firearms, justifying the decision based on the need to
maintain school discipline (Milner et al., 2019). The use of suspensions resulting from zero
tolerance policies can begin as early as kindergarten creating negative experiences for young
Black students throughout their school years. Research has determined that school-based
disciplinary policies account for a substantial portion of the race-based discipline gap (Gopalan
& Nelson, 2019). Historical data shows that in schools adopting a zero-tolerance policy, Black
males are three times more likely to be expelled or suspended than other racial or ethnic groups
(Grace & Nelson, 2019). The racial disparities in the implementation of zero-tolerance policies

25
are likely to be the result of antiBlackness attitudes throughout American culture (Sojoyner,
2013).
Inequitable Administration
The literature indicates that the implementation of school disciplinary policies has a
disparate impact on Black students suggesting inequitable administration of policies (Grace &
Nelson, 2019; Henry et al., 2022; Welch et al., 2022). In grades K-12, Black students account for
7.9% of the student population in the United States but receive 25% of the expulsions (Galan et
al., 2022). Consequently, the burden of policies requiring suspension of students for disciplinary
issues have a disproportionate effect on Black students, demonstrating racial inequity in the
administration of policies (Dutil, 2020). Muniz (2020) noted teachers and administrators often
make subjective decisions singling out Black males for out-of-school suspensions as punishment
for minor infractions of school rules. The inequitable administration of the zero-tolerance policy
is the result of implicit racist attitudes among teachers and administrators unconsciously
influencing their behavior (Henry et al., 2022). Despite substantial data concerning inequitable
administration of school disciplinary policies, the practice persists of excluding Black students at
a higher rate than white students for disciplinary infractions (McNeal, 2022).
Police and Student Resource Officers (SRO)
The punitive nature in which schools address disruptive behaviors creates an environment
of distrust and breaks down the level of school connectedness for all staff and students (Bryan et
al., 2012). The punitive zero-tolerance approach toward discipline ushered in law enforcement
officers under the title School Resource Officers (SROs) which drastically increased the number
of crimes reported in schools (Owens, 2017). As a measure to be tough on crime, schools
adopted this punitive law enforcement approach towards school discipline which widened the

26
achievement and discipline gaps that already existed; and negatively impacted students of color
at disproportionate rates (Gregory et al., 2010). This problem is important because research
directly correlates the aforementioned disciplinary practices in schools to the increasing schoolto-prison phenomena that accounts for Black males being incarcerated at a rate six times that of
their White counterparts (Wadhwa, 2017).
The use of police in schools referred to as school resources officers (SROs) contributed to
the problem of punitive exclusionary disciplinary approaches by criminalizing many of the
school rule infractions and misconduct that are normal among adolescents (Butler, 2022). School
administrators began relying on SROs in the early 1990s in response to several high-profile
shootings in schools. Contributing to the problem of punitive disciplinary approaches from the
presence of SROs in the schools is the tendency of teachers to refer normal student misconduct
to the SROs that the teachers or administrators would have dealt with in the past (McNeal, 2022).
The outcome is the practice of applying police practices used for adults on children and
adolescents, which increases the likelihood of expelling a student and greater involvement of
students with the juvenile justice system.
Qualitative research obtaining data from interviews with 20 SROs conducted by Lynch
and Chappell (2021) found that the SROs create a direct link between the schools and the
juvenile justice system by arresting students for relatively minor infractions such as possession
of small amounts of drugs. In addition, SROs tend to focus on Black students in schools possibly
because of implicit bias. Analysis of arrest data indicated that 33.9% of school-related arrests and
29.4% of referrals to law enforcement involve Black students that comprise only 7.9% of the
school population (Galan et al. 2022). In contrast to the findings of Galan et al. (2022), Heise and
Nance (2021) analyzed national data concerning suspension and juvenile arrests and concluded

27
the legalized approach to school discipline promoted by SROS did not have a disproportionate
impact on Black students. The differences in the findings concerning disproportionate impact of
SROs may be the result of the type of data set, with variation likely to occur among individual
schools and districts.
Relying on interviews with 41 school safety officers, Brown et al. (2020) found the
presence of police officers in the schools significantly influences administrators to pursue
punitive measures with students including expulsions and suspensions. When SROs and
administrators have equal control over decision-making, the punitive philosophy of the police
tends to control the decision. Martinez-Prather et al. (2016) had similar findings with a study
collecting data with interviews from 26 SROs in Texas. The officers in the study were required
to undertake actions consistent with law and school policy rather than the alternative disciplinary
actions they personally believed would be more effective for the student.
Punishment vs. Discipline
In a review of literature concerning the school-to-prison pipeline, Muniz (2020) found the
use of punitive policies emerging in the 1980s and 1990s was based on the assumption that the
only way to counter violence in the schools was through exclusion of potentially violent
students. The schools often did not use a graduated disciplinary approach with minority students
intended to encourage desired student behaviors and expelled or suspended students for the first
infraction. Using data from the Add Health survey, Welch et al. (2022) determined that repeated
exposure to punitive measures in schools involving exclusionary practices have a cumulative
effect on students, increasing the odds of involvement with the criminal justice system in
adolescence and adulthood. The punitive policies adopted by schools focus on eliminating
problem students from the school rather than identifying approaches to help students adjust to the

28
school environment (Basford et al., 2020; Hall et al., 2021). The underlying assumption that the
expulsion of students deemed to be troublemakers would serve as deterrence for other students to
engage in undesired behavior was behind the policy (Welch et al., 2022).
Strategies for Eliminating the School-to-Prison Pipeline
The literature emphasized the use of a restorative justice approach to school discipline
rather than a punitive approach culminating with out-of-school suspension is more effective for
reducing the disproportionate incarceration of Black males (Basford et al., 2020; Fronius et al.,
2019; Morgan, 2021b). Restorative justice promotes conflict resolution by allowing people to
resolve the harm they caused with the focus on healing rather than punishment (Fronius et al.,
2019). Hall et al. (2021) noted the definition of restorative justice is ambiguous but generally
focuses on methods to promote inclusion of the offender in the community by addressing the
harm the offender caused.
Implementing restorative justice in schools requires replacing punitive disciplinary
practices such as out-of-school suspensions based on zero-tolerance policies and antiBlackness
attitudes with practices based on inclusive restorative philosophy (Henry et al., 2022). The three
benefits common in all approaches to restorative justice noted by Tyner (2020) are identifying
the harm suffered by a victim, holding the offender accountable, and restoring harmonious
relationships with the school community. Consequently, restorative justice practices provide the
opportunity for the offender to successfully reintegrate into the school community rather than
expelling the offender.
Hall et al. (2021) relied on interview data from 12 educators using restorative justice
methods to identify two categories of practices commonly found in a restorative justice program
in schools. The first category was use of preventative practices to build community and

29
relationships such as affective statements by teachers that humanize individuals and proactive
circles to build relationships among students. The intent of the preventive practices is to create a
feeling of belonging to the school community for all students. The second category was use of
responsive practices when a student breaches the code of conduct. Some of the practices include
restorative questions to offender and victim to determine why the behavior occurred and
restorative conferences to obtain positive resolution from all parties.
In a review of literature concerning use of restorative justice in schools, Morgan (2021b)
found that restorative practices have increased in schools because of recognition of the harm
caused by punitive exclusionary disciplinary policies. The review also determined lack of
research relying on randomized controlled trials to assess the effectiveness of restorative justice
in schools. The review found existing research of restorative justice has produced mixed results,
possibly because of poor or inconsistent implementation of the restorative justice model in
schools.
Evidence from case studies presented by Basford et al. (2020) indicated that restorative
justice can be effective for reducing racial disproportionality in the way the school administers
discipline. For restorative justice approaches to be successful, however, teachers and
administrators may require extensive training in applying de-escalation techniques and
restorative justice methods with students (Henry et al., 2022). Agudelo et al. (2021)
recommended using three concurrent strategies for implementing restorative justice consisting of
creating a positive school climate for minority students, cultivating cultural humility in the
school with teachers engaged in self-reflection, and reducing punitive expulsions with alternative
methods such as peer mediation and community service.

30
A correlational study conducted by Anyon et al. (2016) found the use of restorative
justice disciplinary practices in the first semester of the school year had a lower odds ratio of
receiving an office disciplinary referral or a suspension in the second semester. The study
involved the records of 9,921 Black, Latino, and Native American students in the Denver school
district following implementation of a school disciplinary reform program that relied on
restorative justice interventions for initial disciplinary infractions. The subjects were selected
based on the history of overrepresentation of the ethnic and racial groups in expulsions and outof-school suspensions. The study also found that the gap in suspensions between Black and
white students persisted after implementation of restorative justice interventions despite the
overall lower numbers of suspensions and expulsions.
Eliminating Implicit Bias and Microaggressions
A strand of the research examines the positive effects on reducing discipline
disproportionality of addressing implicit bias, which involves unconscious biases coming into
play when a rapid decision is required (Felix, 2022; McNeal, 2022; Tosic 2020). McNeal (2022)
attributed the disproportionate impact of exclusionary disciplinary policies on Black students to
implicit bias because the bias leads administrators to make assumptions about individuals based
on external characteristics such as race without full awareness of the situation or circumstances.
Felix (2022) noted that implicit biases influence many subjective decisions in schools including
the type of services a student requires and the type of discipline required to deal with student
behavior (Basford et al., 2020; Fronius et al., 2019). Creating a school environment in which
equitable treatment of Black students is socially desirable may be helpful for encouraging
teachers and administrators to reflect on the motivation behind punitive and exclusionary
disciplinary practices (Marcucci, 2020). Because implicit bias is often difficult to eliminate,

31
increased use of objective criteria for disciplinary decision making may also be necessary in
schools. The use of objective criteria can also result in fewer legal entanglements for schools
based on claims of disparate impact of policies and practices on Black students (Tosic, 2020).
An additional strategy to eliminate the implicit bias noted in the literature is to employ
more teachers of color in the schools (Morgan, 2021a). Research indicates that Black students
have better learning outcomes and less punitive incidents involving exclusion when they have
teachers of the same race (Morgan, 2021a). Because relatively few Black teachers are in many
school systems, addressing the issue of insufficient teachers of color requires a coordinated effort
to attract more Black individuals to the profession (Basford et al., 2020). Allen and White-Smith
(2014) argued that the recruitment of minority teachers has not kept pace with the gradually
shifting demographics of the student population in schools. At the same time, many of the white
teachers in schools with predominantly Black students have not had the preparation to teach in a
racially diverse classroom.
Microaggressions are a component of implicit antiBlackness bias in American society,
creating a hostile atmosphere for Black students in schools (Sojoyner, 2013). Bryan (2017)
argued that microaggressions by white teachers result from the unconscious biases leading the
teachers to use language revealing their incorrect judgements about students. The
microaggressions are stressors for Black students that accumulate and indirectly encourage the
student to resist oppression in the school (Grace & Nelson, 2018). The microaggressions
contribute to social stratification with Black students implicitly told they have less social
standing than white students (Allen & White-Smith, 2014). Eliminating microaggressions
involves training to increase awareness among teachers and administrators of the impact of their
white middle class attitudes and to increase use of appropriate inclusive language in all

32
communications with Black students (Allen & White-Smith, 2014). When engaging with Black
males it is critical to understand the complexities that make up the individual and collective
experiences that lead to outcomes in which the behaviors of Black males are criminalized (Bush
& Bush, 2018).
Challenges and Barriers to Implementing Alternatives
Some researchers contend that a significant challenge to implementing restorative justice
is overcoming the negative perceptions of the effectiveness of the approach (Krieger & Cairoli,
2019; Morgan, 2021b; Schiff, 2018). Critics contend that restorative justice is effective only
when the facts of an incident involving a student are not in dispute and the roles of offender and
victim are clear (Morgan, 2021b). Schiff (2018) noted significant difficulties exist for
implementing restorative justice in schools because of the need to disrupt the social and
organizational structures perpetuating racial bias in schools. Bureaucracies in schools are often
resistant to the changes necessary to implement restorative justice methods or disciplinary issues.
In addition, variability in the organizational structures and political situation of each school
district creates difficulties because of the need to customize restorative justice practices or the
specific circumstances in the school.
Using data collected from practitioners of restorative justice in schools in California,
Kreger and Cairoli (2019) identified specific barriers to implementing a restorative justice
program. The punitive mindset often became embedded among administrators and other
stakeholders leading to rigidity and resistance to change. As a result, decision makers were often
unwilling to try restorative justice to determine if it would be effective. An additional barrier was
insufficient funding, which is necessary to train teachers and administrators in the use of
restorative justice methods. In similar research using data collected from interviews with 13

33
restorative justice coordinators in schools, Samalin (2021) found that insufficient financial and
administrative support was a barrier to implementing restorative justice programs, which
manifested as lack of time, physical space, and training for the program. The most significant
barrier in the research was poor program design such as absence of implementation goals and
failure to convey the goals and methods to the teachers responsible for implementing the
restorative justice program. Poor program design also resulted in inconsistent application of
restorative justice, which was used concurrently with punitive disciplinary methods.
Using data collected from 32 teachers and administrators in five schools in Chicago,
Stewart and Ezell (2022) investigated the common barriers to implementing restorative justice in
schools. The participants ideologically favored restorative justice but identified multiple issues
with implementation. The restorative justice program has to establish a restorative culture in the
school, which is difficult because of the different perspectives and level of support from teachers
and administrators. Administrators do not consistently support restorative justice and are often
unwilling to fund programs. Security staff and SROs are also often skeptical about the
effectiveness of restorative justice. The findings suggest that attitudinal barriers may be
significant for implementing restorative justice programs.
A study by Jacobs et al. (2022) examined five school districts to determine whether
elimination of implicit bias, microaggressions, and unwillingness to engage in dialogue
regarding racial differences reduced the number of disciplinary expulsions for Black students.
The study was inconclusive because the teacher participants were unclear about the nature of
culturally responsive practices and how to implement the practices, which suggests that teacher
knowledge is a barrier to implementing alternatives to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline.

34
Tyner (2020) as well as Kreger and Cairoli (2019) also noted the resistance of various
stakeholder groups to participating in implementing a restorative justice program in schools.
Theory and Framework
Critical race theory and AAMT provide the theoretical framework for the study. Critical
race theory explains how racial divisions structure society while AAMT fosters understanding of
how the internal and external environment influences Black males (Bush & Bush, 2013; Lynn,
2002). Both theories are relevant to this study and its exploration of the school-to-prison
pipeline’s impact on Black male students.
Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory aids in understanding how society is organized and structured along
racial divides (Lynn, 2002). Critical race theory begins with the fundamental proposition that
racism is a normal part of the social structure in the United States and is endemic (LadsonBillings, 2021; Bell, 2018). Given that the country’s historical development hinged on the
dehumanization of non-White groups and White supremacy, the basic structure of society is
rooted in racism (Lynn, 2002). Critical race theory offers a response to racism and oppression
through a commitment to social justice and the empowerment of people of color (Yosso &
Solorzano, 2005). The response is generally found in the form of counter-stories that challenge
the narratives of dominant White society that justify and perpetuate racist practices.
Another proposition of CRT is the use of social, political, and economic institutions and
policies by a White majority to oppress racial minorities (Allen & White Smith, 2014). Distinct
dominant group members within these institutions may demonstrate racism in different ways.
For example, lower and middle-class White people may use racial slurs or violence, while
members of the White upper class form exclusive clubs or express outrage against the idea of

35
reverse discrimination (Matsuda, 1989). Corporate racism exists in the failure to promote and
provide equitable pay to people of color or in overlooking incidents of racism among employees
(Matsuda, 1989). The concept of interest convergence is the proposition that progress towards
racial equality through the elimination of racist practices occurs only when the interests of White
people coincide with the interests of Black people, with White people using power to continue
supporting a privileged position. Consequently, any gains in civil rights are more the result of
White self-interest than the needs of Black people (Delgado & Stefancic, 1998).
The theory also contains the proposition that minorities have different experiences of
marginalization influenced by intersectional identities such as socioeconomic class, gender, or
sexual orientation (Ladson-Billings 2021). Lynn (2002) described racism as “systematic
oppression and dehumanization of peoples based on skin color and other phenotypic
characteristics” (p. 120). Yosso and Solorzano (2005) expanded upon the definition of racism by
characterizing it as a multilayered phenomenon that encompasses not only race, but also gender,
class, immigration status, accent, sexuality, and surname. These definitions highlight the role of
intersectionality in the experience of oppression.
An additional proposition of CRT is the value of experiential knowledge of marginalized
people of color (Yosso & Solorzano, 2005). People of color possess unique voices that testify to
experiences of oppression (Bell, 2018). As such, research methods such as storytelling,
narratives, and testimonies are appropriate strategies in understanding and respecting the
experiences of peoples of color (Yosso & Solorzano, 2005). Thus, their experiential knowledge
is the best basis for challenging the racist practices of the white majority to foster social change.
A final proposition of the theory is that the concepts of meritocracy and colorblindness
are myths to mask racist practices. Critical race theory challenges the ideas that White-dominated

36
institutions, such as education or government, are neutral, objective, or colorblind (Yosso &
Solorzano, 2005). In fact, the push towards colorblindness within a White supremacist society
obscures racism (Bell, 2018). False empathy is another example of a myth which masks racist
practices. White caregivers who seek to better the lives of Black people may be viewed in a
positive light; but they fail to truly benefit Black people. Instead, they may even inflict harm
upon those for which they supposedly care for through a false sense of empathy. This fake
empathy is based on White people purporting to know the needs of racial minorities (Duncan,
2002).
Critical race theory is useful for describing the causes of the behaviors of teachers and
administrators in schools creating the school-to-prison pipeline. The theoretical concepts create a
framework linking the historical roots of racism to the general types of racism existing in modern
society and institutions that can create the school-to-prison pipeline. The theory also describes
the way that embedded white privilege and racist social systems impact the perceptions and
attitudes of individuals to prompt racist behaviors creating inequitable punishments of Black
students in school. A principal element of the theory is the marginalization occurring because of
racist behaviors leads to challenges to the practices of teachers and administrators. The challenge
to existing myths and beliefs supports changes to behaviors such as use of restorative justice
approaches to discipline in schools.
Past Research Using Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory provides the theoretical framework for much of the research
concerning the school-to-prison pipeline and its effect on Black and other marginalized groups
(Dutil, 2020; Grace & Nelson, 2019). Critical race theory is appropriate for investigations of the
way discipline is used because the theory considers factors such as racism, power, and policy as

37
they relate to historical oppression, and trauma. In a discussion of research concerning
dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, Allen and White-Smith (2014) argued that CRT
provides a strong analytic framework because it considers the intersection of race with multiple
identities to explain the issues Black male students face in schools. A fundamental proposition of
the theory in the context of education is that the educational system is an instrument used to
oppress minorities and maintain White supremacy (Dutil, 2020). The leadership of the
educational system masks the oppression with arguments that disciplinary measures against
minorities are necessary to maintain order and prevent violence. The code of conduct policies
and disciplinary consequences are aimed at exclusionary disciplinary practices which prevent the
advancement of minorities by limiting access to education. Consequently, the CRT framework is
generally used to analyze racism related to institutional power that minorities have historically
been unable to control (Grace & Nelson, 2019).
African American Male Theory
An adjunct to CRT as a framework for this study is African American male theory
(AAMT). AAMT offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the experiences and life
trajectories of African American men and boys, including their spiritual, psychological, social,
and educational development (Bush & Bush, 2013; Bush & Bush, 2018). Drawing upon
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, which examines relationships and interactions
among the individual and the different environments in which the individual exists, AAMT
addresses the internal and external environments and their interactions that are unique to African
American males in a post-slavery world (Bush & Bush, 2013; Bush & Bush, 2018). Six tenants
form the framework of this theory. First, the individual and collective experiences, outcomes,
and trajectory of African American males are best understood within an ecological systems

38
framework (Bush & Bush, 2013; Bush & Bush, 2018). This framework includes inner and outer
microsystems, comprised of personal characteristics and individuals with whom the African
American male interacts; the exosystem, comprised of societal factors such as unemployment
and access to health care; the mesosystem consisting of interactions between the microsystems;
the macrosystem of societal and cultural beliefs such as hip hop culture or Black Nationalism;
and the larger chronosystem containing factors such as segregation that influence all other
subsystems (Bush & Bush, 2013; Bush & Bush, 2018).
Additional tenants address the uniqueness of being both male and of African descent, the
influence of African culture on African American boys and men, the resiliency of this
population, and the intersectionality of classism and sexism on African American men and boys
(Bush & Bush, 2013; Bush & Bush, 2018). Finally, AAMT emphasizes the pursuit of social
justice for African American men and boys as a necessary focus of research and programs (Bush
& Bush, 2013; Bush & Bush, 2018).
African American Male Theory and Conceptual Framework
Examining the experiences through the lens of AAMT theory, racism in the schools has a
negative effect on the life trajectory of Black men and boys by negatively affecting their
psychological, social, and educational development (Bush & Bush, 2013). The racism endemic
in the United States is part of the macrosystem that has a profound impact on Black men by
influencing all social interactions. The racism of the macrosystem affects the schools that are
part of the exosystem and have a significant effect on development of Black boys and men by
creating a racist environment that communicates the paradigms of dominant White society.
Consequently, Black male students are implicitly told they are inferior to White students and
have to be controlled to maintain order. Because of the resiliency of Black men, they are able to

39
challenge the narratives that support White supremacy paradigms (Bush & Bush, 2018). The
result is an understanding of how racism harms Black students with discriminatory practices
such as expulsion for behavior deemed unacceptable by White society. The understanding
promotes adopting alternative approaches to disciplining Black male students that do not
promote racism such as the use of restorative justice methods and practices. From the perspective
of AAMT, eliminating racism in the disciplinary decisions of school personnel can disrupt the
school-to-prison pipeline.
Conceptual Framework
Critical race theory is useful for describing the causes of the behaviors of teachers and
administrators in schools creating the school-to-prison pipeline. The theoretical concepts create a
framework linking the historical roots of racism to the general types of antiBlackness existing in
modern society that can create the school-to-prison pipeline. The theory also describes the way
that embedded white privilege and racist social systems reflecting antiBlackness impact the
perceptions and attitudes of individuals to prompt racist behaviors creating inequitable
punishments of Black students in school. A crucial element of the theory is the marginalization
occurring because of racist behaviors that leads to challenges to the practices of teachers and
administrators supporting changes to behaviors such as use of restorative justice approach to
discipline in schools.
Together, CRT and AAMT theory form the conceptual framework for this study. At the
root of the school-to-prison pipeline is racism. Black people possess a unique voice and are
competent to speak about the issues of race and racism (Stefancic & Delgado, 2010). Black male
students perceive that racism in society and schools are the underlying reasons for the
disproportionate discipline practices in schools (Grace & Nelson, 2018). The conceptual

40
framework posits that everyday racism among school staff causes differential responses to
student behaviors through interest convergence. In other words, school-based racism furthers the
interests of White people thus de-incentivizing them to address the issue (Stefancic & Delgado,
2010). As a result, and through the lens of African American male theory, the life trajectory of
African American men and boys, including their psychological, social, and educational
development, is negatively affected (Bush & Bush, 2013) through reduced opportunities to learn,
exclusion from school, and entry into the criminal justice system. Figure 1 shows the
relationships of the propositions of CRT and AAMT as a means of understanding the existence
of the school-to-prison pipeline and its multifaceted impact on Black males.
Critical race theory begins with the fundamental proposition that racism is a normal part
of the social structure in the United States and is endemic (Ladson-Billings, 2021). Another
proposition of CRT is the use of social, political, and economic institutions and policies by a
white majority to oppress racial minorities (Allen & White Smith, 2014). The use of institutions
to maintain racism is called interest convergence with White people focusing on using power to
support a privileged position. The theory also contains the proposition that minorities have
different experiences of marginalization influenced by intersectional identities such as
socioeconomic class, gender, or sexual orientation (Ladson-Billings 2021). An additional
proposition of CRT is the value experiential knowledge of marginalized people of color.
Consequently, their experiential knowledge is the best basis for challenging the racist practices
of the white majority to foster social change. A final proposition of the theory is that the concepts
of meritocracy and colorblindness are myths to mask racist practices. Figure 1 shows the
relationships of the propositions of CRT as a cycle of racism fostering behaviors leading to

41
inequality, which prompts survivance and resistance leading to challenges to the causes of the
racist behavior.
Critical race theory is useful for describing the causes of the behaviors of teachers and
administrators in schools creating the school-to-prison pipeline. The theoretical concepts create a
framework linking the historical roots of racism to the general types of racism existing in modern
society that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline. The theory also describes the way that embedded
White privilege and racist social systems impact the perceptions and attitudes of individuals to
prompt racist behaviors creating inequitable punishments of Black students in school. An
essential element of the theory is the marginalization occurring because of racist behaviors that
leads to challenges to the practices of teachers and administrators supporting changes to
behaviors such as use of restorative justice approach to discipline in schools.
Critical race theory and African American male theory form the conceptual framework
for this study. Societal and institutional racism are the precipitating factors for the school-toprison pipeline. While study participants included school personnel responsible for disciplinary
decisions regarding students, they do not necessarily possess the ability to speak about this
racism. Instead, and according to African American male theory, it is Black people that possess a
unique voice and are competent to speak about the issues of race and racism (Stefancic &
Delgado, 2010). Black male students perceive that racism in society and schools are the
underlying reasons for the disproportionate discipline practices in schools (Grace & Nelson,
2018).
The conceptual framework explains that everyday racism among school staff causes
differential responses to student behaviors through interest convergence. Insufficient
convergence of the interests of Black people with White people furthers the interest of White

42
people in maintaining supremacy and prevents them from addressing disparate behaviors relating
to discipline (Stefancic & Delgado, 2010). As a result, and through the lens of African American
male theory, the life trajectory of African American men and boys, including their psychological,
social, and educational development, is negatively affected (Bush & Bush, 2013). Black men and
boys experience reduced opportunities to learn, exclusion from school, and entry into the
criminal justice system.
This conceptual framework aligns with the goal of this study. The overall goal is for
schools to successfully adopt and implement restorative practices that encourage and support a
sense of belonging for all students to learn and achieve at elevated levels in an effort to dismantle
the school-to-prison pipeline. Thus, to prevent negative psychological, social, and educational
outcomes in Black males, one must dismantle the current systems of racism-fueled disciplinary
practices that inherently benefit White people and focus on restorative practices that empower
and encourage Black males.
Critical Race Theory and the Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework derived from CRT posits that everyday racism among school
staff causes differential responses to student behaviors through interest convergence. In other
words, school-based racism furthers the interests of White people thus de-incentivizing them to
address the issue (Stefancic & Delgado, 2010). Consequently, the root cause of the school-toprison pipeline is racism. In critical racism theory, schools are institutions like any other in
American society that are influenced by racism (Allen-White & Smith, 2014). Black male
students perceive that racism in society and schools are the underlying reasons for the
disproportionate discipline practices in schools (Grace & Nelson, 2018). The conceptual
framework explains that everyday racism among school staff causes differential responses to

43
student behaviors through insufficient interest convergence. The processes of the educational
disciplinary system ostensibly to provide benefits to Black people furthers the interest of White
people and prevents them from addressing disparate behaviors relating to discipline (Stefancic &
Delgado, 2010). Black males experience reduced opportunities to learn, exclusion from school,
and entry into the criminal justice system. Figure 1 contains a diagram of the effects of racism in
schools on Black male students.
Figure 1
Conceptual Framework

44
Conclusion
The school-to-prison pipeline is an outcome of the implicit educational policies that
marginalize Black students and maintain White supremacy (MacKenzie, 2020; Nelson &
Williams, 2019) and are part of the institutionally racist system fostering antiBlackness in the
United States (Saito, 2020; Wright, 2021). The PIC along with felony disenfranchisement have
racist roots because of the disproportionate numbers of Black males in the prison system that can
no longer vote (Carson, 2020; Huskin & Long, 2022; King et al., 2019). Many Black males
incarcerated as a result of the school-to-prison pipeline demonstrate survivance by ultimately
obtaining an education outside of the school system (Butler, 2022; Irby, 2018; Jones et al., 2018).
The practice of using out-of-school suspensions as a disciplinary measure that falls
disproportionately on Black male students has contributed to the school-to-prison pipeline
because children out of school are more likely to become involved with the juvenile justice
system (Milner, 2019; Dutil, 2020; Fronius et al., 2019). Policies such as zero-tolerance for
disciplinary infractions (Basford et al., 2020; Milner, 2019; Morgan 2021b) and the presence of
SROs (Butler, 2022; Lynch & Chappell, 2020) have provided justification for administrators to
suspend or expel Black male students. The restorative justice approach to discipline is a viable
alternative to current punitive policies in schools because it emphasizes healing over punishment
(Fronius et al., 2019; Hall et al., 2021). Implementing restorative justice also requires eliminating
implicit bias and microaggressions among White teachers and administrators in schools (Bryan,
2017; Felix, 2022; McNeal, 2022; Tosic 2020). Barriers to implementing restorative justice in
schools include overcoming negative perceptions of the approach (Krieger & Cairoli, 2019),

45
entrenched racist philosophy (Schiff, 2018), and insufficient financial and administrative support
(Samalin, 2017).
This study filled a gap in the literature concerning the way racial perspectives and
attitudes influence decisions by school personnel concerning discipline for the behaviors of
Black male students and the viability of alternatives to suspension and expulsion of students.
Previous research has established disproportionate use of discipline for Black males involving
expulsion (Galan et al., 2022; Marcucci, 2020; Morgan 2021b). Previous research has also found
a correlation between expulsion of Black male students and involvement with the criminal
justice system (Carson, 2020; Puzzanchera, 2021). The literature did not investigate the specific
experiences and understanding of school personnel concerning how to address behavioral issues
among Black male students to improve their connection to the school and interest in learning.
Chapter Three explains the qualitative critical narrative inquiry research design to examine the
influence of racially biased perspectives and attitudes among school personnel when making
disciplinary decisions involving Black male students.

46
Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and perspectives influencing
school personnel responsible for making disciplinary decisions for Black male students that
ultimately contributed to the school-to-prison pipeline. Chapter 3 contains a description of the
critical narrative inquiry methodology used to examine events based on the propositions of CRT.
The chapter also presents a description of the methodology, including the research questions, an
overview of the design, the sample and participants, instrumentation, data collection, data
analysis, and approach to establish trustworthiness. I also examined my biases and positionality
as a Black male educator related to the study. As the researcher, I used the critical narrative
inquiry methodology as an integral part of the data collection and analysis process, I used first
person when discussing the methodology.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study:
1. RQ1: How do school personnel explain the process in their school for implementing
discipline for Black students?
2. RQ2: How are decisions made to suspend or expel Black male students from school
for disciplinary infractions?
3. RQ3: How do school personnel regard the use of restorative teaching and learning
practices for changing the exclusionary practices feeding the school-to-prison
pipeline?

47
Overview of the Design
This qualitative study using a critical narrative research design investigates the response
of public school’s personnel to the behaviors of Black male students negatively impacting
learning and results in the exclusionary disciplinary practices creating the school-to-prison
pipeline. Critical narrative research examines the way people construct meaning of experiences
in social situations with the narratives or stories articulated in discourse as evidence of how
social, political, and economic norms shape perspectives and understandings (Gavidia & Adu,
2022).
I used the critical narrative methodology to obtain data using interviews from at least 10
school personnel such as administrators, teachers, support staff, and security staff who have an
impact on the disciplinary decisions concerning K–12 in public schools. I have created an
interview protocol of 15 questions to obtain data to answer the research questions with
interviews lasting between 45–60 minutes (see Appendix A). I also examined school records
concerning exclusionary and alternative disciplinary practices in schools as additional data
necessary to develop an understanding of the context for the information obtained from the
participants.
Qualitative research is appropriate when the goal of the study is to understand the topic
under investigation from the viewpoint of the participants (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The
qualitative approach is constructivist, relying on the premise that the participants have a socially
constructed understanding of reality that creates subjective meanings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
In this study, the goal is to understand disciplinary practices of Black males in public schools
from the perspective of the individuals administering the discipline. Qualitative research relies
on inductive reasoning in which bits of data obtained from various sources are used to gain an
understanding of the larger phenomenon under investigation (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The

48
alternative approach of using a quantitative methodology for the research would not be
appropriate because of the difficulty of identifying measurable variables concerning behaviors of
school administrators. While previous research has relied on statistical information (Butler,
2022; Carson, 2020; Cueller & Markowitz, 2015), objective data collection as part of
quantitative research does not support a thorough understanding of the attitudes and assumptions
of school personnel when disciplining Black males.
Critical narrative inquiry is a form of the phenomenological research design that provides
a better understanding of a phenomena from the perspective of CRT (Gavidia & Adu, 2022). The
intent of the critical narrative inquiry approach is to explore the ways people create meaning in
social contexts by adopting a dialectic stance with the subjects that challenges existing social
narratives (Jorgenson & Largacha-Martinez, 2014). The critical narrative inquiry can reveal or
expose meaning in addition to both overt and hidden power practices inherent in discourse
(Nowack-Dziemianowicz, 2020). The critical narrative inquiry supports the development of
counter-storytelling to challenge the accuracy of generally accepted beliefs or myths, which in
this study involve the behaviors of Black males in schools. Because critical narrative inquiry is
phenomenological, the focus is on gaining an understanding of the topic under investigation from
the perspective of the individuals experiencing the phenomenon. In this study, focus is on the
experiences of school personnel making disciplinary decisions in response to the behavior of
Black male students. I also was an active participant in the co-construction of meaning along
with the other participants in the study. Other researchers have used critical narrative inquiry
with studies relying on CRT (Lachuk & Mosley, 2012; Stavrou & Murphy, 2021).
While phenomenology can inform research about lived experiences, scholars developed
critical narrative inquiry with counter-storytelling specifically for use with a CRT framework
(Solorzano & Yosso, 2002). The narrative inquiry approach extends phenomenology by

49
examining the history and context surrounding the stories of the participants. Other qualitative
designs are not suitable for the study. The case study approach does not provide an alternative to
the dominant narrative explaining phenomena (Jorgenson & Largacha-Martinez, 2014). The
grounded theory design is not appropriate because the CRT is available to guide the research.
Sample and Population
I drew participants from the staff members responsible for disciplinary decisions from
two urban high schools situated in the northeast part of the United States. The first high school,
designated as school A, had 43% Black students, 55% Hispanic students, and 2% White students.
School A had a completion rate of 78.7%. The second high school, designated as school B, had
34% Black students, 54% Hispanic students, 7% White students, and 5% Asian students. School
B had a completion rate of 86.4%. The poverty rate in the community was approximately 20%,
which was twice the average rate for the state. I selected the schools because they were inner city
institutions that had numerous disciplinary infractions by students in the past decade. The staff in
these schools had substantial experience with making decisions concerning the discipline of
students, including Black male students.
The study used purposeful sampling to select participants for the study. Purposeful
sampling was suitable for my qualitative research study to identify individuals who had
extensive knowledge and insights about the research problem (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This
was critical for the study as the participants selected exuded a wealth of experience issuing
student discipline. Participants 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 all served on their school’s discipline teams
and detailed a plethora of stories that spoke to their experiences and the disciplinary decisions
made over a multitude of years in public schools. Specifically, Participant 3, a former police
officer with over 40 years of experience spoke to the major philosophical differences between
discipling from a law enforcement perspective versus disciplining from a restorative justice

50
perspective. The core of this narrative phenomenological study was to focus on identifying
individuals with stories relevant to the research topic (Creswell & Poth, 2018). I used the specific
purposeful sampling strategy for the study of typical sampling, which selects individuals
reflecting the average person’s knowledge of or relationship to the phenomena of interest
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In this study, I delimited the concept of average person to the school
personnel responsible for making disciplinary decisions in response to the behaviors of Black
male students.
Sampling Criteria
Implementing the purposeful sampling strategy used criteria to identify individuals who
provided information for the study. The first criterion was: individuals working as
administrators, teachers, support staff, or security staff in a public high school responsible for
student discipline. The individuals are responsible for making decisions concerning the
appropriate response to the behaviors of Black male students. The individuals in these positions
can provide insight about differences in the treatment of Black male students and attitudes
towards restorative justice in response to disciplinary issues. The second criterion is: Individuals
working in a public-school environment which has more than 30% Black students. A substantial
group of Black compared to the race and ethnicity of other students is necessary to address issues
related to differences in the disciplinary treatment of Black male students. The third criterion is:
Individuals who have made a disciplinary decision concerning at least five Black male students
in the past year. The criterion ensured that the participants could recall the events surrounding
decision making and the effect on Black male students.

51
Setting and Participants
I drew participants from the staff members responsible for disciplinary decisions from
two urban high schools situated in the northeast part of the United States. The first high school
designated as School A has 43% Black students, 55% Hispanic students, and 2% White students.
School A has a completion rate of 78.7%. The second high school designated as school B has
34% Black students, 54% Hispanic students, 7% White students, and 5% Asian students. School
B has a completion rate of 86.4%. The poverty rate in the community is approximately 20%,
which is twice the average rate for the state. I selected the schools because they are inner city
institutions that have had numerous disciplinary infractions by students in the past decade. The
staff in these schools are likely to have substantial experience with making decisions concerning
the discipline of students including Black male students.
Instrumentation
I used a semi-structured open-ended interview to collect data. The open-ended interview
providing in-depth information is a suitable instrument to collect the data from participants
necessary to support critical narrative inquiry through counter-storytelling and to answer the
research questions of the study (Gavidia & Adu, 2022). The counter-storytelling in the critical
inquiry method requires assisting participants with surfacing and communicating their
experiences and knowledge related to oppression with the objective of fomenting change
(Hauber-Ozer et al., 2021). The in-depth interview technique supports the collection of data from
the perspective of the participant and can lead to uncovering hidden beliefs and power practices
(Nowack-Dziemianowicz, 2020). The semi-structured open-ended interview relies on a set of
questions worded to elicit information necessary to answer research questions with each
participant asked the same set of initial questions (Patton, 2014). The participant is free to
respond expansively. As the interviewer I encouraged detailed answers by asking follow-up

52
questions to obtain additional information or clarify responses. I allowed the participants to lead
the direction of responses to obtain as much personal data as possible about their personal stories
and their attitudes towards the central topics of discipline for Black male students and use of
restorative practices in schools.
The interview questions are linked to the research questions of the study as noted in the
interview and research question grid in Appendix A. The first research question (RQ1) examined
the processes used in schools for implementing discipline for Black male students. Interview
questions 3 through 6, 8 through 10, and 14 obtained information concerning disciplinary
procedures and the perspectives of the participants about the process. Previous research has
established that exclusionary disciplinary practices are the result of policies and procedures
targeting Black male students leading to impaired learning and increased risk of involvement
with the justice system (Irby, 2018; Jones et al. 2018; McCarter et al., 2019; Morgan 2021a). The
second research question (RQ2) investigated how decisions are made to suspend or expel Black
male students from schools. The literature indicates that Black male students have a
disproportionately high expulsion rate because of inequitable administration of disciplinary
policies (Grace & Nelson, 2019; Henry et al., 2022; Muniz, 2020; Welch et al., 2022). Interview
questions 1 through 6, 8 through 10, and 13 through 15 sought information related to the
perspectives of participants toward the exclusionary discipline practices in schools. The third
research question (RQ3) investigates perceptions toward restorative practices as an alternative to
exclusionary disciplinary methods.
Include the process of development (if applicable) and reliability and validity of the
instruments used, as well as field testing (if applicable).

53
Interview Protocol
The interview process aimed to gather comprehensive information from participants to
yield robust findings, aligning with the study’s objectives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Employing
aspects of an unstructured or informal interview approach, participants were encouraged to share
their experiences freely following the initial questions. For instance, when discussing
disciplinary practices, participants were asked to describe specific incidents they encountered,
providing rich qualitative data (Creswell & Poth, 2018). At times I asked follow-up questions to
probe participants into providing additional information because I wanted the participants to
control the direction of response. Each participant provided different insights on critical incidents
and other experiences relevant to the study (Creswell & Poth, 2018).
The interview protocol consisted of 14 carefully crafted questions, each designed to
explore different facets of participants’ experiences and perspectives on disciplinary actions
involving Black male students. For example, questions delved into participants’ interpretations
of school policies, interactions with students, and attitudes toward restorative justice practices. In
addition to the primary questions, potential probes were included in Appendix A to facilitate
further exploration of specific topics that arose during the interviews. For instance, if a
participant mentioned a particularly challenging disciplinary case, follow-up questions were
asked seeking to uncover the factors influencing their decision-making process.
I maintained a neutral stance throughout the interviews to avoid biased participants’
responses. This included refraining from expressing approval or disapproval of statements made
by participants. For example, when a participant shared a controversial perspective on
disciplinary measures, I remained non-reactive to ensure their comfort in expressing their views
openly (Meadors & Murray, 2014). To further ensure objectivity, I actively controlled my body
language and facial expressions during the interviews. For instance, I maintained an open posture

54
and maintained steady eye contact to convey attentiveness and respect for participants’
viewpoints. This approach helped minimize unintended influences on participants’ responses,
fostering a more authentic exchange of information.
Data Collection
The data necessary to answer the research questions of the study consist of interviews
with individuals responsible for disciplinary decisions in public schools and school records
concerning exclusionary practices used with Black male students. The data collection procedure
differs for the two types of data. The interview data collection procedures are more complex than
the collection of data from documents because the interviews involve human participants and
provided the majority of the data necessary to answer the research questions.
Interview Data Collection Procedures
I relied on data collected using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with at least 10
participants who are personnel in public schools responsible for student discipline. The primary
purpose of the interview is to collect specialized information (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I
selected the interview for data collection because it permits the co-construction of meaning by
the researcher and the participants in the study (King & Horrocks, 2010). The co-construction of
meaning is consistent with the constructivist research paradigm in which meaning is socially
constructed and can vary among individuals and situations.
Data saturation occurred with a sampling of 10 participants. The goal of the data
collection in the study was to maximize the amount of information available to answer the
research questions with initial uncertainty concerning the number of interviews that would be
necessary. Saturation occurs when the data produced by the interview becomes redundant by not
producing any added information (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I informally determined the point

55
of saturation based on the information obtained in each interview. Initially, each interview
provided unique perspectives and insights into the research questions. However, as I conducted
subsequent interviews, I observed patterns and themes recurring across multiple interviews.
These recurring themes and patterns indicated that the data collection process was reaching
saturation. This suggested that further interviews were unlikely to yield substantially new
information.
The data collection process began with obtaining permission to conduct the study from
the two high schools from which I selected teachers to participate in the study. After obtaining
permission, it was necessary to identify individuals in the two high schools who participated in
the disciplinary decisions for Black male students. School directories and information from
administrators assisted in the identification process. Each prospective participant received an
email inviting them to be part of the study if they met the selection criteria (see Appendix B).
The email explained the study’s purpose and the participant’s role in providing data. I conducted
the interviews via Zoom video conferencing technology at a time agreeable to the participant. I
recorded all interviews with the permission of the participants to facilitate transcription and
analysis of the data. One week after the interview, I sent a copy of the transcript and my
preliminary data analysis to the participants to verify the content. I used a similar data collection
process for all interviews.
Document Data Collection
I examined documents concerning disciplinary decisions of the students at the two
schools participating in the study. I used inclusion criteria to select documents relevant to the
study (Kutsyuruba, 2023). The inclusion criteria for the documents are: (a) disciplinary
infractions involve Black male students; and (b) sufficient data to determine details of the

56
incident and disposition. I made separate notes of information related to the disciplinary decision
such as nature of the infraction, demographic information such as age and ethnicity of the
student, and disposition of the infraction. I did not record the student’s name or any other
information that could indirectly identify the student.
Ethical Considerations
Data collection did not occur until I obtained approval from the Institutional Review
Board from the University of Southern California. The data collection process followed all
ethical guidelines. I required every participant to complete an informed consent form prior to any
interviews (see Appendix C). The form contained my name, the purpose of the study, the risks to
participants, and the right of participants to withdraw from the study at any time. The informed
consent form included permission to record the interviews. I identified all participants only by a
number to protect confidentiality. I redacted any information that could indirectly lead to
disclosure of the identity of a participant. I kept all recordings and documents related to the study
in a secure location to which only I have access. I will retain the records for 3 years after
completion of the dissertation after which time I will erase all electronic data and destroy all
physical data related to the research.
Data Analysis
Qualitative analysis focused on interpreting and making sense of the data provided by
participants. The approach to data analysis in narrative inquiry relied on the assumption that
individuals socially constructed stories about their lives, experiences, decisions, and experiences
(Hickson, 2016). The unit of analysis consisted of individual stories compiled by each participant
through the interview process. The analysis of the process involved categorizing the data with a
coding scheme developed from the emergent data in each interview. I then organized the codes

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into themes to explain the meaning the participants ascribed to the data. The themes became the
basis for developing the textual description of the data (Moustakas, 1994). In narrative analysis,
the categories were conceptual rather than linguistic, which involved the implications of the
words the participants used in creating the narrative stories (Esim et al., 2014). The data analysis
process was inductive because categories were gradually assembled from each interview into
themes that provided an overall understanding of the data. Because of the relationship of the
interview questions to the study’s research questions, the themes provided information to answer
the research questions. The data analysis resulted in statements about the explicit and implicit
information provided by the participants and related to the research questions (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016).
I performed data analysis of the transcript after each Zoom interview, with data collection
and data analysis being a relatively simultaneous process (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The
ongoing data analysis contributes to determining the point at which data saturation occurs and
provides insight into additional follow-up questions that can be asked of subsequent participants.
As the interview and data analysis process proceeded, the emerging categories and themes
became more robust for reflecting the attitudes and perspectives of the participants. During the
data analysis process, I recorded the rationale for decisions related to placement of information
into categories and themes. The data analysis process was the same for each research question. I
coded the categories through a manual process of examining the data to identify inferences in the
discourse that narrative data analysis software may overlook.
The analysis of narrative stories by focusing on the implicit themes in the language is
similar to the methods used by other researchers investigating the school-to-prison pipeline based
on CRT (Dutil, 2020; White & Allen, 2014). Grace and Nelson (2019) also used an open coding

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approach to identify categories in narrative data to support the development of themes. The
researchers also used a manual coding process to reduce the possibility of software errors.
However, a difference in the methodology was the use of an independent reviewer for the coding
process to minimize the possibility of bias, which was not feasible for my study.
I used thematic analysis of the documents concerning disciplinary practices in the schools
and descriptive analysis of demographic data and disposition. In thematic analysis, each item in
the document is coded with the codes subsequently aggregated to produce themes (Kutsyuruba,
2023). As with the coding of the narrative data, developing codes and themes is an ongoing
process with each document examined. CRT allowed for the identification of implicit biases and
systemic inequalities within the narratives, informing the interpretation of the data about racial
dynamics and power structures. The resulting themes provided context for increasing
understanding of the themes produced by the narrative analysis of the interviews.
The study utilized AAMT by focusing on specific aspects of the theory’s framework to
guide the coding process and data analysis. For instance, within the interviews, the theory guided
the identification of recurring themes related to the experiences of Black male students within the
school system. These themes included instances of stereotype threat, where Black male students
felt pressured to conform to negative stereotypes, leading to self-fulfilling prophecies in
disciplinary interactions. Additionally, the theory informed the analysis of power dynamics
within disciplinary decisions, highlighting how institutional racism and implicit bias influenced
the disproportionate punishment of Black male students compared to their peers.

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Trustworthiness, Credibility, Dependability, Transferability, and Confirmability
Trustworthiness
To improve the rigor of the study, I used various tools and strategies to increase
trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Trustworthiness provides an indication of the degree of
confidence in the objectivity and accuracy of the findings (Patton, 2014). Trustworthiness
consists of the elements of credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability. The
internal validity of the study was not sufficient to indicate the narratives identify critical elements
providing plausible explanations for the decisions made by school personnel concerning
discipline of Black males (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The following subsections contain a
discussion of the methods used to ensure trustworthiness.
Credibility
Credibility focuses on ensuring that the reports of the participant’s experiences are
represented accurately and is analogous to internal validity (Stahl & King, 2020). I established
credibility through triangulation, which involves use of multiple sources of data that can be
compared and cross-checked to support the accuracy of the findings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
My approach uses triangulation by obtaining data from multiple participants that may have views
or perspectives differing from each other. The study design also uses methodological
triangulation, which involves obtaining data using different methods (Patton, 2004). In this
study, I collected data from interviews with participants and from examination of records
concerning disciplinary decisions in the two high schools at which the participants are
responsible for making disciplinary decisions. I also used tactics to encourage candor in the
participants such as approaches to preserve confidentiality. Triangulation helps ensure that the

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data reflects the perspectives of the participants towards disciplinary approaches for Black
students.
I also established credibility through member checking, which involves the opportunity
for the participants in the study to verify that the interpretations of the data are congruent with
their perspectives and experiences. The approach seeks feedback from the participants
concerning the preliminary findings and is intended to reduce the possibility of misinterpreting
the data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The member checking is a procedure that should be
conducted early in the data collection and analysis process. Consequently, I sent the transcript
and the preliminary interpretation to each participant shortly after the interview takes place. The
verification of the data and interpretation by the participants increases the internal validity of the
study and its trustworthiness. Member checking supports the objectivity of the decisions
concerning the information that was included as part of the counter-narratives in the CRT
framework.
Dependability
Dependability is achieved when the researcher uses methods that are logical and clearly
documented to support the ability to trace the procedures (Nowell et al., 2017). Dependability is
analogous to reliability. I established dependability with an audit trail, which is a log of the
decisions made at various points when implementing research methods with particular emphasis
on decisions during data collection and data analysis. The audit trail supports the claim to
validity for the study by demonstrating how the research was performed and why the findings
represent the best account possible (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Particularly important in the audit
trail is the evidence showing how the data supported the decisions concerning issues arising
during the interview process and decisions concerning the development of categories and

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themes. In the audit trail record, I intend to include reflective information about the available
choices and the rationale for selecting a specific choice. With research based on CRT, the audit
trail explains the rationale for the inclusion and emphasis on various themes revealed through the
analysis of narrative data,
Transferability
As a qualitative study examining the view of reality I co-constructed with the
participants, the findings do not have external validity. Consequently, the findings cannot be
generalized to all individuals in situations similar to the participants. The absence of
generalizability is a characteristic of qualitative research (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Although the findings of qualitative research cannot be generalized, transferability can exist,
which involves the applicability of the findings to similar contexts or situations (Nowell, et al.,
2017). Transferability is analogous to external validity. I established transferability through thick
description, which refers to presentation information about the context of the participants in
sufficient detail to allow others to determine if the findings are applicable to their situation
(Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Because the theoretical framework of CRT is the ubiquity of racism in
the United States, the teachers and principals in many other schools may determine if the
findings of the study are transferable to their context.
Confirmability
Confirmability ensures that the findings of the study are based on the data rather than
participant or researcher bias (Nowell et al., 2017). I established confirmability by using multiple
sources of data through triangulation. I also established confirmability with bracketing, which is
the process of setting aside all preconceived ideas to understand the actual meaning of the
phenomena as experienced and understood by the participants in the study (Creswell & Poth,

62
2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). To assist with setting aside my preconceived ideas, I
maintained a journal concerning my personal thoughts and experiences related to the disciplinary
practices for Black male students used in schools. The journal supported my ability to review my
thoughts and impressions following each interview to assist with maintaining objectivity. The
use of triangulation and bracketing assists with controlling the interaction of my positionality on
the issue of the disparate treatment of Black male students in schools.
Positionality
The concept of positionality refers to the way in which social position and relative power
influence identities and interactions with systems of power and privilege in a society (Puente et
al., 2023). According to Villaverde (2008) (as cited in Douglas & Nganga, 2013) positionality is
“how one is situated through the intersection of power and the politics of gender, race, class,
sexuality, ethnicity, culture, language, and other social factors” (pp. 60-61). Positionality has an
inherent influence on the way I perceive the topic of disparate disciplinary treatment of Black
male students.
I am a fair-skinned African American heterosexual male who was raised with my natural
parents and two biological brothers in a foster care group home named Children’s Haven. This
group home was designed to service abused, abandoned, and neglected boys who were assigned
by the division of child protective services. I lived in Children’s Haven from the age of 3 until
the age of 14 along with 11 boys living in the group home at any given time. Over 150 different
young men from a diverse array of social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds passed through
Children’s Haven while I lived there. I was raised in Paterson, New Jersey, the third most
densely populated city in the United States among cities over 100,000 residents. My childhood
experience of living in close proximity to many different people of varying cultures and

63
ethnicities taught me the valuable lessons of being respectful, responsible, and resilient. My
upbringing has shaped the man I am today as a Christian, father, son, brother, husband, teacher,
mentor, community leader, administrator, scholar, volunteer, and former athlete.
My various roles and positions provide a brief synopsis of the wide array of systems that
directly and indirectly make up the person known as Zatiti; which means practical in the Swahili
language. I am named in accordance with an African tradition that honors the great lineage of the
people who came before me and believed that a name is the most important gift that one can give
to a child since the name is what the person will be called for a lifetime. The practice of
connecting to the continent of Africa is in accordance with the AAMT (Bush & Bush, 2018)
which expounds upon Bronfenbrenner’s (1986, 1989, & 2005) work of how interconnected
environmental systems impact people.
The manner in which I am positioned in my community creates a dichotomy in which I
am intrinsically connected to the least desired members and segments of my community
(informal power structure) yet I am also an esteemed educator, administrator, scholar, and
community activist connected to both the formal and informal structures of power and influence.
The irony of my positionality is the fact that as a scholarly African American male, I can never
truly be fully accepted into any of these two diametrically opposed power structures as the
actions of the informal structures are deemed criminal by the formal structures that I also
represent.
Straddling opposing power structures places me in a precarious position. As a high school
principal connected to the highest positions of power in both the formal and informal structures, I
am tasked with upholding the discipline policies and procedures that criminalize behaviors that
are feared and misunderstood by school officials and local law enforcement agencies. Although I

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am positioned as a staunch activist against the inequitable treatment of African American males,
I am also a part of the system that is directly responsible for the discipline and achievement gap
which helps to account for incarceration rates of African American males six times that of White
males (Wadhwa, 2017). I realize I am deeply connected to the practices criminalizing and
marginalizing African American males across each of Bronfenbrenner’s (1986, 1989, 2005)
interconnected environmental systems. Therefore, I must be extremely cautious to not make
assumptions or assertions but rather focus on objectivity in the collection and analysis of data.
The specific problem that I addressed in this study is the inequitable disciplinary approaches
towards Black students in schools. Because of my experiences as a principal of the only
alternative high school in the third largest city in the state of New Jersey as well as my
experience as the principal of one of the most recognized high schools in the United States, I
have real life experiences forming an intuitive knowledge base and internal logic. However, I
realize that in order to research the topic effectively, I have to minimize the impact of my
personal biases. I recognized that the voices that are centered in the conversation developed in
this research are the voices of the teachers, school staff, administrators, law enforcement
officials, and policy makers who are assailants administering punitive measures of discipline to
Black male students. The voices that are missing in this conversation are the voices of the
students and the parents who are inexplicably impacted by these assailants and the community
who elect the policymakers.
Summary
This chapter provided an overview of the qualitative critical narrative inquiry
methodology used to collect and analyze data concerning the perspectives and attitudes of school
personnel responsible for disciplinary decisions concerning Black male students. The sampling

65
was limited to school personnel in two urban high schools. Data was collected from a minimum
of 10 participants using a semi-structured open-ended interview protocol and from documents
concerning disciplinary decisions at the two high schools. Interviews were conducted online
through Zoom. I analyzed the data following each interview by coding the main ideas and
aggregating the codes to create themes that support a textual description of the data. I used an
audit trail, member checking, triangulation, and bracketing to ensure validity and reliability as it
applies to qualitative studies. The following chapter presents the results of the study.

66
Chapter Four: Results
The purpose of this qualitative critical narrative inquiry study was to investigate the
attitudes and perspectives influencing school personnel responsible for making disciplinary
decisions for Black male students that ultimately contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline.
The research questions for the study were:
1. RQ1: How do school personnel explain the process in their school for implementing
discipline for Black students?
2. RQ2: How are decisions made to suspend or expel Black male students from school
for disciplinary infractions?
3. RQ3: How do school personnel regard the use of restorative teaching and learning
practices for changing the exclusionary practices feeding the school-to-prison
pipeline?
Critical race theory and African American male theory provided the theoretical framework for
the study, with the propositions of the two theories used as the foundation for interpreting the
data obtained from the participants. This chapter presents the study’s results organized according
to the three research questions. First, it presents findings pertaining to school personnel’s
philosophy, perceptions of Black male students, and firsthand experiences influencing
disciplinary decisions. Subsequently, it examines themes related to exclusionary discipline,
perceptions of Black male students, and recommendations for improvement. Finally, it presents
themes concerning restorative practices, recommendations, and implications.
Participants
The participants in the study were ten individuals working as teachers or administrators
in schools in a large urban district in the northeastern part of the United States of America who

67
have been involved in some aspect of the disciplinary process for students. All but one of the
participants held college degrees with four of the participants indicating they held a master’s
degree. The number of years as teachers or administrators in the schools varied between 14 and
30 years with some participants not disclosing their level of experience. Some of the participants
also had experience in other professions such as a counselor or police officer before becoming
schoolteachers and administrators. Table 1 presents the information concerning the position in
the school, gender, and race or ethnicity of the participants.
Table 1
Position, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity of Participants
Partici
pant
Position G
ender
Race/E
thnicity
1 Teacher Coordinator F Black
2 Discipline Coordinator F Hispan
ic
3 Security Supervisor M White
4 Vice Principal F Black
5 School Community
Coordinator
M Black
6 Principal for Operations M Hispan
ic
7 School Counselor M Black
8 Discipline Coordinator F Hispan
ic
9 Discipline Coordinator M Hispan
ic
10 Resource Teacher F Black

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Document Analysis
The analysis of disciplinary documents obtained from the two participating schools
revealed a stark disparity in the rates of disciplinary actions, including in-school suspension
(ISS), out-of-school suspension (OSS), and expulsion, with Black male students facing
disproportionate consequences compared to other racial or ethnic groups. These documents
primarily included disciplinary incident reports, school-wide monthly suspension reports, statewide school report card data, the school’s code of conduct and policy manuals. Upon
examination of these documents, it became apparent that Black male students were significantly
more likely to experience exclusionary discipline for various infractions, such as fighting,
weapon and drug possession, and behavior posing a significant risk to the safety of others.
For instance, data from the documents indicated that among Black male students, the rate
of ISS was approximately 30%. In contrast, among students of other racial or ethnic groups, the
rate was only 10%. Similarly, the rate of OSS for Black male students was 25%, whereas it was
only 8% for other students. Moreover, the rate of expulsion among Black male students was 5%,
significantly higher than the 1% observed among students of other racial or ethnic backgrounds.
The results are shown in Table 2. Furthermore, the document analysis revealed a correlation
between age and the incidence of exclusionary discipline, with older students experiencing much
higher rates of exclusion than younger students. These findings align with existing literature,
including studies by Epperly et al. (2020), Galan et al. (2022), King et al. (2019), and Saito
(2020), which have also highlighted the disproportionate disciplinary actions against Black male
students in educational settings.

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Table 2
Comparison of Disciplinary Actions
Disciplinary action Black male
students (%)
Other
students (%)
In-school suspension (ISS) 30 10
Out-of-school suspension
(OSS)
25 8
Expulsion 5 1
To complement the interview data, the document analysis served as a crucial source of
quantitative information to provide concrete evidence of the disparities observed in disciplinary
practices. The iterative process involved cross-referencing findings from interviews with insights
gleaned from the document analysis to comprehensively understand the disciplinary landscape
within the studied schools. This interplay between qualitative interviews and quantitative
document analysis facilitated a complex exploration of the factors contributing to the
disproportionate disciplinary actions against Black male students.
Results for Research Question 1: Philosophy, Perceptions, and Experiences
Research question 1 asked: How do school personnel explain the process in their school
for implementing discipline for Black students? The context for RQ1 was the disparate
disciplinary practices in schools for Black students. The literature suggested that the elements of
White supremacy are embedded in American society and influence the behavior of individuals
responsible for making decisions affecting social systems and institutions such as schools (Tuck
& Gaztambide-Fernández, 2013). The premise of White supremacy is implicitly communicated
in schools and is intended to encourage Black students to abandon their cultural norms and
behaviors in favor of norms and behaviors favored by White society (Ladson-Billings & Tate,

70
2016; Patel, 2016). The refusal of teachers to accept Black cultural norms and behaviors results
in disproportionate disciplinary problems in schools for Black students (Dutil, 2020; Love,
2019). The literature also suggests that school administrators often do not use a graduated
approach to discipline of Black students and often administer punitive discipline even for minor
infractions (Welch et al., 2022).
The analysis of the data provided by the participants revealed three themes relevant to
answering RQI, which were the theme of philosophy, Black males, and personnel experience.
The insight emerging from the themes involves the use of a graduated approach to discipline
with the objective of inculcating the values and norms of society with respect to behavior into the
students. Because the values and norms reflect the dominant paradigms of White supremacy, the
process inherently places Black males at a behavioral disadvantage because of antiBlackness and
racist paradigms concerning Black males. Another perspective emerging from the themes is a
distinction between discipline as a means to foster behavior conformity and punishment to
exclude persistently nonconforming individuals from the school. Punishment used
disproportionately against Black students implicitly communicates that school authorities
consider them inferior and impossible to control. The firsthand experiences of some participants
reinforced the emphasis on discipline to achieve conformity with some students requiring
exclusion to maintain order in the schools. The propositions of CRT and African American male
theory reflected in the statements and perspectives of the participants are the framework for the
presentation of the themes. The themes presented in the following subsections are in the order of
importance for answering the research question.

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Theme 1: Philosophy
The theme of philosophy reflects the rationale expressed by the participants for
disciplinary decisions and includes the sub themes of graduated use of discipline and the
perception of the participants of the distinction between punishment and discipline. The elements
of the theme are the underlying beliefs and values of the participants that implicitly guide their
actions when disciplining Black male students. The narratives reveal a general two philosophic
strands of instilling discipline necessary to prepare students to survive in real life outside the
school and discipline as necessary to maintain order and discipline in the school to promote
learning. Some participants offer both motivations for the disciplinary decisions they implore.
Implicit in the participants’ narratives is the CRT concept of false empathy in which the
paradigms embedded in the educational system subordinate individuals from minority groups
based on the rationale that the discipline is for their own good. To function in the educational
institution governed by the paradigms of White society, teachers and administrators of color also
adopt the philosophy that the most disciplinary procedures are for the benefit of the student.
The philosophy of the participants towards discipline often focused on the need to have
students conform to the expectations of society. Contained in the narratives was the view that the
school rules for behavior are analogous to the rules governing behavior in society as a whole,
with the school as a training ground for society. A narrative by Participant 1 was indicative of the
attitudes towards discipline of preparing students to live in society.
You have your classroom, and you have different goals like your goal is to reach
benchmarks, you know, to reach certain academic goals. I guess benchmarks again for
the district as far as academics … But when you’re working on a different level in terms
of discipline /student management and you’re not in the classroom you have more time to

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actually work on those other aspects of the child. And you learn the importance of that,
because you see, outside of the classroom what is affecting these kids as well. So, there is
a lot of pressure on teachers in the classroom to work towards whatever the school’s
expectations are, as far as what the teacher should be teaching, and where students should
be at the end of the year. But when you’re looking at it from a bigger picture. It’s more
about how this child is going to be successful outside of my classroom in the real world.
The emphasis on the importance of preparing students to be successful in the real world was a
manifestation of false empathy by caregivers of the benefit from promoting change in behaviors
among Black students to conform to White society. The narrative also demonstrated some of the
propositions of CRT with respect to meritocracy and the use of the school institution to
encourage conformity to the norms of White society. The importance attached to standardized
benchmarks represented the myth of meritocracy and colorblindness and echoed elements of the
majoritarian narrative rather than a counter-story that reveals underlying racism.
Participant 7 also offered a narrative reflecting the philosophy that education is to foster
conformity to the rules established to maintain order in schools and in society.
[discipline is] something that has to happen because you violated a rule … Education in
and of itself is a form of discipline you have to study … There’s certain things you have
to do. But I just believe that if you come to school there are simple rules and regulations
that you should be able to follow. We go over these rules, and we know that you
understand them. But if you can’t follow simple rules and regulations, it concerns me.
Because then I say, okay, what are you going to do when you have to go into mainstream
society where there are rules?

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The narrative suggested that the educational process and the use of discipline is intended to
produce acquiescence and compliance to the demands of society. The philosophy reflected in the
narrative again showed the false empathy proposition of CRT concerning the belief that
oppressive behaviors by an individual in authority benefit minorities. Participant 3 also
emphasized the purpose of discipline is to maintain order in the schools. “You gotta have order.
If you don’t have order, you’re not gonna get through the day. You gotta set whatever your
expectations are.” While adhering to rules is necessary for the functioning of any social
organization, the focus on compliance creates the opportunity to marginalize and ultimately
exclude some students based on racial stereotypes concerning cooperation with others.
The statements of participants expressed various rationalizations for their approaches to
discipline. Participant 5 focused on the need for accountability for wrongdoing by stating: “I call
it [discipline] accountability, because in society you have to be accountable to your actions.”
Participant 9 emphasized safety by explaining “we try to work together as a team to try to adhere
to all the policies, make it more functional, make it safe in the school.” Both accountability and
safety are considered expressions of false empathy through the rationale the discipline is
intended to maintain order and safety in the schools. The argument to justify disciplinary
decisions in schools can rationalize the racist motivation for decisions having disparate impact
on Black males by suggesting the decision was for the benefit of the disciplined student as well
as other students in the school.
Graduated Approach to Discipline
Several participants indicated that they used a graduated approach to discipline with the more
severe discipline reserved for students who do not comply with the initial approach to encourage
conforming behaviors. Participant 10 stated:

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I kind of like work my way up to that level of discipline. But like, if I do need to hand out
some form of discipline, I usually have to write the child up and send them to ISS, like
in-school suspension, but that’s like my last resort.
Participant 8 also described a graduated process for discipline.
first you have to look at the previous consequences, why, they didn’t work what they
were, and then call in the parents and say, this is, you know, you know this has been
happening, for you know, XY. And Z. What’s going on? How can we help? How can we
come together as a team and help your child.
Participant 6 provided additional narrative concerning a graduated approach to discipline.
My whole philosophy is that everything has an explanation. There must be a progression
to correcting this behavior. It can’t just be out like dropping the building on them. It just
can’t be that way. You can’t just drop the corrective action or consequence on them like a
ton of bricks. We need to first have that conversation to find out what led this this young
person doing this?
An implication of the various narratives concerning graduated discipline was the need to
give students an opportunity to acquiesce to the demand to conform to the rules established for
the operation of the school institution with mild or preliminary discipline. More severe
disciplinary consequences occurred only if the student continued to resist compliance. The
concept was based on the premise that understanding the reasons for misbehavior can result in a
conversation enabling school authorities to address the causes of the misbehavior. An implicit
element of the graduated approach, however, is the need to persuade the student to change
behaviors to conform to the rules established by White society.

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Many of the participants indicated that the district rather than the schools established the
rules and expectations for behavior and discipline. For example, Participant 2 stated she had to
“follow the district’s discipline code of conduct” and Participant 4 noted the “code of conduct is
something that’s created by the district.” Participant 4 also revealed that teachers’ “only
responsibility is to report the incident… And then those bigger decisions are left to the TCs and
the administrators in terms of the final decision of what that student’s outcome is going to be.”
While the district establishes the expectations for discipline, the decisions concerning
enforcement of rules were made at the local school level by specialized administrators.
Analysis based on CRT propositions suggested that the aforementioned disciplinary approach
reflected insufficient interest convergence of Black interests with White interests resulting in
continued use of educational discipline to control Black student behavior. The district issued
rules ostensibly applying to all students while allowing administrators to use discretionary
enforcement, which leads to stringent enforcement against Black males based on the racist
attitudes and perspectives of the administrator. Viewing schools as institutions to perpetuate
White supremacy, the disciplinary system can be used to foster conformity by Black students and
exclusion of Black students that continue to resist compliance. At the same time, the graduated
disciplinary approach of the teachers and administrators of color participating in the study was
justified as a process giving students the opportunity to conform to the rules without resorting to
punitive and exclusionary disciplinary methods.
Difference Between Discipline and Punishment
The participants had variable degrees of understanding pertaining to the difference
between discipline and punishment. Some participants made a philosophical distinction between
discipline as a correctional practice benefiting the student and punishment as a practice that does

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not benefit the student. Participant 2 noted “Discipline. How does it benefit the student? How is
it helping the student change their behavior? or how does it help them in the long run. If the
discipline is punitive … then it’s not benefiting the student.” Other participants suggested that
the distinction between discipline and punishment lies in the methods used to modify behavior.
Participant 4 stated: “I can discipline you. By just having a conversation with you. But if I’m
punishing you, it’s punitive. So, you’re gonna receive something that you’re not gonna like.”
From the perspective of Participant 4, discipline is a positive approach to behavior modification
while punishment is a negative approach.
Participant 3 offered a narrative suggesting that the distinction between discipline and
punishment is not well understood in schools.
They [the students] do stuff daily they don’t even know is wrong. Sometimes a lot of
things that are reality to them are misunderstood by the staff. I remember doing those
things too. Teachers want to file an HIB [harassment, intimidation, or bullying] case.
Once this one guy was heated, he came up with some crazy stuff. He said the kid was
throwing stuff, we’re talking about a 7- or 8-year-old kid. If a kid throws a pencil around
the room with his other kids oh, that’s an HIB case, I’m saying, well. do you know where
you’re at? They don’t think it’s wrong, and you want to put an 8-year-old in jail for doing
that.
The narrative of participants is consistent with AAMT by demonstrating that the process of
marginalization of Black males involves imposing harsh consequences for minor behaviors. The
narrative also suggested marginalization based on behavior begins relatively early in the
educational process and can eventually escalate as the Black male student grows older.

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The narrative of participant 9 explained the difference between discipline and punishment
as internalized voluntary adherence to rules compared to external sanctions for violating rules.
You could have discipline in everyday life. Right? You wake up right…you know you
have to go to work. You go to work on time. Right? So that discipline that you have, and
always instilling in you because you want to be at work on time, because usually what
happens when you go to work late. That’s the punishment, right? Usually there’s some
kind of punitive action when you get there. So usually, the punishment is the end result of
discipline … But if you take actions upon yourself, or you do what you’re not supposed
to do, then you know the corrective actions, usually the kind of like the punishment
portion of it.
The concept of internalized motivation to comply with rules can be viewed as the process of
instilling the desire to conform to the norms and expectations of White society in students
through the agency of the educational institution.
The various narratives concerning disciplinary philosophy in general and the information
concerning the distinction between discipline and punishment suggested that discipline and
punishment are different tools intended to produce the same result of control over the behaviors
of students. The component the participant labeled as discipline relied on persuasion to motivate
students to conform to rules and policies. The component of punishment relied on coercion to
achieve student compliance. While the participants did not explicitly mention Black males in
connection with the discipline-punishment dichotomy, the use of punishment is more likely if
they believe the student has a propensity for recalcitrance. Factors such as systemic racism,
antiBlackness beliefs, and the perception of insufficient interest convergence to warrant changing
the disciplinary system for Black males motivates the use of punishment.

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Theme 2: Black Males
Some of the elements of the theme of Black males contained in the narratives were
related to the descriptions of the decisions concerning discipline in schools. The participants,
however, did not generally connect their discussion of disciplinary philosophy with comments
about the application of discipline to Black students. The central theme in the narratives
suggested the approaches to discipline created the possibility of applying discipline to one group
of students that was more severe than the application of discipline to other groups.
Despite the use of a graduated approach to discipline by some administrators, the
narratives suggested variability exists in the selection of a disciplinary measure. The following
narrative by Participant 8 suggested a substantial amount of discretion on the part of
administrators.
It depends on the severity of the case. So, if, like, we have a basic situation, you know,
some of my colleagues might be a little bit more strict. When it comes to that, I might
handle it differently, but that again depends on the situation … If I see a person …
violating the uniform policy by doing a uniform infraction, I give them an opportunity to
correct themselves … And if I see them again then I might hold them accountable. And I
… given, the tension and whatnot. But … if it’s something as severe as maybe a fight or
drugs or anything like that. Yeah, I do hold them accountable too … and I make sure that
they are disciplined and bring it to the attention of the school I mean top school
administrator in the building.
The narrative claims to take into consideration “the tension,” which can indicate the degree of
racial tension in the school and the perception of Black male students as having a greater
potential for causing harm. As a result, racism and antiBlackness embedded in the educational

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system could influence the decision to impose harsher discipline on Black males perceived as
troublesome or aggressive. The narrative rationalizes disciplinary decisions as justified by
behavior, which remains a rationale of White dominance rather than a counter-story challenging
implicit racism in the decision-making process.
Participant 6 touched on the process of classifying students by characteristics as a factor
influencing the implementation of discipline by stating:
I truly believe that at one time, when there was there was some type of correlation
between having students classified and parents receiving some type of money from the
Government. If they had met the qualification, I thought they were over classifying the
students… If, for example, the students that are classified behavior disorder, behavior is
because you can’t say boo to them without them getting aggressive and angry… It’s just
something with the attitude or something with the behavior, that we haven’t found out
how we can help this young person, so I believe the least restrictive environment will
help all students regardless of race.
The narrative directly indicated the decision makers in a school implicitly classify students as
needing a special education based on socioeconomic status. The narrative then moves towards
classifying students as aggressive and angry, which has racial implications. The statement of
colorblindness at the end of the narrative suggested that many of the students being classified by
socioeconomic status and behavior are Black. The narrative demonstrated that students with a
classification designation are members of a lower socioeconomic class and as troublemakers are
more likely to receive discipline because the schoolteachers and administrators have not found a
way to “help” the student.

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A narrative provided by participant 7 described the beginning of the disciplinary process
for Black male students.
If I come into a classroom and there’s a group of kids in the class, and the kid was
disrespectful to the teacher in some type of way, and the teacher wants a kid out. I have to
take that kid out, for the most part, I’m talking about black males. I have to take that kid;
what I call, off stage. I can’t deal with that kid in front of his or her peers. So, I may have
to go up to that student, and I may have to bend down and say, Hey. listen! The teacher
wants you out of class. I don’t know what happened, I know, but let’s go out in the hall
and let’s talk about it. Let’s go sit down in my office and let’s talk about what happened.
The narrative indicates that the disciplinary process for Black males begins with taking the
student out of the classroom to separate the student from peers, which is a form of exclusionary
discipline. The participant initiates a conversation to identify and address the root cause of the
troublesome behavior. The narrative suggested that Black males have the initial opportunity to
conform their behavior to the expectations of the school and White society through persuasion,
with the threat of more severe discipline occurring if the behavior does not change.
Theme 3: Personal Experience
The theme of personal experience has a relationship to the CRT proposition that
knowledge gained through experiences of people of color is the optimal basis for challenging the
narratives of White supremacy. The narratives of firsthand experiences of the participants when
they were students, however, suggested that they generally conformed their behavior to the
expectations of the school and society. Consequently, they have a similar expectation for their
students and their philosophy concerning the use of discipline to maintain order and safety in the

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schools. The individual experiences also functioned as the basis for the rationale for discipline as
a means of preparing students for life in society.
A narrative by Participant 7 showed how personal experiences with discipline as a
student in Catholic school contrasted with the required approach to discipline as a public-school
administrator:
the priest came in, and he put the assignment on the board, and he said, okay, gentlemen,
I don’t want any talking and we found ourselves. After he left the room, we found
ourselves talking. One of my friends. He came in, grabbed him out the desk, drug him up
the hall. I don’t know what happened when he got outside the hall, but I just heard a lot
of rumbling in the hall, and I don’t think it was the principal being knocked up against the
wall. I can assure you it was the student who was being knocked up against the wall …
When you issue discipline [as an administrator]. It’s a way you have to go about issuing
discipline. And when I say where you have to go about it, meaning that, it’s a
conversation the way you go about it with the particular student, and it goes from student
to student. Some students will accept it. Other students won’t. Other students will just
challenge you, even though, challenge your authority.
The personal experience of the participant as a student reflected the use of physical punishment
to coerce students into complying with behavioral norms. The implied result of the physical
punishment for one student was ensuring the classroom was orderly, which benefited the other
students in the classroom. The experience led the participant to challenge the narrative in the
schools he attended that physical force was necessary to obtain compliance with behavioral
expectations. As a result, the participant adopted a persuasive approach to discipline, but
nonetheless admits that the approach may not be effective with some students in the modern

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school environment. In other narratives, the participant also used qualifiers such as “most of the
time” and “some they don’t care” when describing disciplinary approaches to persuade students
to change behaviors. The participant, however, did not explain whether the punitive measures
used in the schools he attended were less effective than the persuasive methods currently used in
the school in which he currently works. The participant left open the issue of whether punitive
disciplinary methods such as exclusion from school were necessary with the students who did
not respond to persuasive discipline to elicit conformity to rules of behavior.
Participant 3 had similar experience with physical punishment as a student in a Catholic
school was similar. He indicated “When I was there the nuns or priests, they would beat the hell
out of you back then. That ruler thing that you see on TV, that really used to happen.” The
participant was formerly a police officer before entering the field of education. The experiences
with punitive discipline may have contributed to the more stringent position of the participant
toward maintaining order in the schools suggested in the following narrative.
So, if we have somebody that’s just menacing, just to be menacing, bullying. just
aggravating to the point where they just love chaos. Otherwise, they can’t be in the same
building as you cause one person, two people could turn the place out.
The narrative implied that students engaging in aggressive behavior warrant punitive or
exclusionary discipline to maintain order in the school and for the safety of others. As with other
discussions related to the effect of discipline on Black students implying false empathy, the
perception that the use of punitive discipline for aggressive students is based on the rationale that
the punishment is for the benefit of others. The experiences of the disciplinarian as a student
subject to or witnessing harsh discipline bolsters their belief that the rationale is valid.

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Discussion for Research Question 1
The themes of philosophy, Black males, and personal experience explain the subjective
aspect of the processes used by schools when implementing discipline for Black students. The
analysis indicated that the decision makers use a graduated approach to discipline that begins
with persuading the student to conform to expected behaviors followed by more punitive
measures including exclusion from the school. The objective is to secure order and safety in the
schools and to prepare students for life outside of schools. The literature suggests that the use of
a graduated approach to discipline in schools is a relatively new development (Muniz, 2020)
with some observers contending that graduated discipline is not used in many schools (Welch et
al., 2022). In the past, excessive reliance on punitive discipline for any infraction resulted in
exclusionary practices contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. Both forms of discipline;
relying on persuasion as well as coercive punishments, however, have the same objective of
producing conformity to the rules of White society among Black students. The results are
consistent with the position of Nelson and Williams (2019) concerning the use of the educational
system to maintain the privileged position of White society while marginalizing Black students.
The results of the data analysis also shows that teachers and administrators do not agree on the
distinction between discipline and punishment, but often use positive disciplinary methods such
as talking with students early in the graduated discipline process. When discussing discipline,
some participants emphasized the concepts of meritocracy and colorblindness, which according
to Yosso and Solorzano (2005) is a concept used in institutions to perpetuate White supremacy.
The results suggested that administrators have a substantial amount of discretion over
decisions for disciplining students, which can result in Black students receiving disproportionate
amounts of discipline. Targeting Black students for discipline is more common when schools

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classify students as needing special education based on factors such as race or socioeconomic
status. The results are consistent with the literature determining that anti-Blackness is a
significant driver of decisions concerning Black students (Ray et al., 2017) and the
criminalization of normal Black behaviors results in greater frequency of sanctions (Basile, et al.,
2019). The individual experiences of participants shaped their approach to the disciplinary
process by underscoring the importance of conformity to the rules and expectations of the school
administrators. The participants developed an expectation that appropriate disciplinary methods
involving persuasion will be effective for most, but not all Black students. The participants have
discretion to use punitive discipline, which can lead to disparate outcomes for Black males.
Results for Research Question 2: Exclusionary Practices and Decision-Making
Research question 2 asked: How are decisions made to suspend or expel Black male
students from school for disciplinary infractions? The context for RQ2 was the higher rates of
exclusionary practices in schools including OSS, expulsions, and transfers to alternative schools
as the equivalent of expulsion. The literature indicated that OSS have a direct correlation with
violations of the law resulting in arrest, which contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline
(Milner, 2019; Dutil, 2020; Fronius et al., 2019). Research also indicates that Black males have
disproportionately high rates of expulsion and OSS compared to other students (Butler, 2022).
The decisions concerning exclusionary discipline for Black male students often implicitly
communicate the stereotypical assumptions that Black males are aggressive, violent, and
unwilling to attend school, which are narratives supportive of White supremacy (Basile, 2019).
Analysis of the narratives of the participants revealed the three themes related to RQ2 of
exclusionary discipline, Black males, and recommendations for change. The results suggested
that the decisions to exclude Black males using ISS, OSS, and expulsion are discretionary

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application of district and school rules applied to students unwilling to conform to the behavioral
norms of White society rooted in the conduct codes. The analysis also determined that decision
makers rely on various rationales rooted in antiBlackness such as false empathy to justify the
exclusion of Black males at higher rates than other students. The narratives recognized the use of
exclusionary discipline harms learning and socialization for Black males with some counterstories challenging the exclusionary practices. The themes presented in the following subsections
are in the order of importance for answering the research question.
Theme 1: Exclusionary Discipline
The participants provided narratives concerning the decision-making process for
exclusionary discipline, which included ISS, OSS, and expulsion or reassignment to an
alternative school for Black males. The participants often claimed that the decision to use
exclusionary discipline was based on district or school policy and the decision was colorblind.
The participants admitted that decision makers have considerable discretion in determining how
to apply policy, which raised the possibility that antiBlackness and racism in the institutional
culture of the school prompted strict adherence to district policies for discipline for Black male
students.
The participants suggested that exclusionary discipline practices were quite common in
schools in the past but are used less at the current time. Participant 3 also discussed the scope of
the problem of exclusionary practices in the past stating: “we started with like-people think I
might be lying but there were 100–200 suspensions in a month. We got it down to some months
that we had maybe 10–15 suspensions per month.” The statement implied that some of the
individuals responsible for exclusionary decisions recognized the need to reduce the incidence of
suspensions, although the decision-makers continue to use the practice. A narrative by

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Participant 1 indicated that suspension or expulsion were standard practice for even minor
infractions.
If you felt harmed or disrespected, or the student did something very egregious towards
you or the school community. You want to go harsh on the penalties, and I’m just saying
you, I am speaking in general, like people in the school system will go harsh on the
penalties. And the main penalty we have is suspension. So, depending on how egregious
the incident was, or the behavior was, that determines how many days of suspension the
student received, and for a long time that was all we had. That was our way of punishing
or disciplining students. Unfortunately, I was made to believe that that same consequence
had to be applied to every infraction. Like the analogy of the construction worker with
only one tool in the tool belt.
The narrative suggested that the views and attitudes of the decision maker toward the student
influences application of exclusionary discipline rather than a less punitive type of discipline.
The participants’ narratives often implied that the decision to suspend students was
beyond their control and dictated the policies of the district. Participant 2 stated “I’ve had to
issue student’s suspensions, you know, 5 days, 10 days depending on what the district policy
was. and that’s basically most of what I did.” According to Participant 8:
the district makes the policy, and we follow the policy. So, for example, if a student is
cutting class and the policy says, the first offense is, you know, after school detention,
Saturday detention, or a 1 day of ISS, you make the judgment with that day, or you make
the judgment because it’s like it’s either or it’s not. It’s this way only.
Participant 7 stated that disciplinary decisions adhered to policy to avoid discrimination, but also
affirmed that decision makers do not strictly adhere to policy.

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We may have a policy. And we all know that policy is put in place, so there’s no
discrimination, but I think that in everything there are exceptions to rules, to policy and I
think that we need to look at those situations on a case-by-case basis.
Reaching exclusionary decisions on an individual basis allows school personnel to consider
intangible factors concerning the student such as perceptions of staff concerning the student’s
propensity for violence. As a result, antiBlackness can influence the decision. Another
explanation of the functioning of the exclusionary decision-making process came from
participant 4.
Infractions are categorized from categories one to 3 with specific consequences for each
category. So, students can either be suspended, which is OSS, or they can receive an inschool suspension based on the category of the infraction. For example, students that
fight in the building that’s considered a category 3. And that requires out of school
suspension. For up to 10 days. The minor infractions are normally ISS where students
will serve in school suspension for a day, or maybe 2 days. But normally the out of
school (OSS) is for more severe infractions … there is some wiggle room. However, we
do try to stick to what is in the code of conduct, the student code of conduct.
The common perspective in the discussions of the disciplinary process is that the decision
maker must follow policy but has latitude in determining how schools will conduct exclusionary
discipline such as having a 1-day ISS on Saturday instead of an OSS. The narratives also
suggested that decision makers consider race as an unstated factor when determining whether the
student merits leniency. The implication of the narratives is that the administrators at the district
level establish a policy supporting use of exclusionary discipline while the decision makers at the
school level determine which students to exclude. The analysis of the narratives based on CRT

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suggests that relying on policy as a rationale to exclude Black male students creates a mechanism
to perpetuate the status quo of White supremacy.
Further evidence of the arbitrary application of exclusionary discipline comes from
Participant 6 who suggested that political connections with district administrators was a factor
influencing the exclusionary discipline decision-making process.
they say they’re enforcing the code of conduct. And they’re enforcing this handbook for
parents. They’re telling us to stand firm on the line of enforcement of it in expectation.
But all it takes is a trip down to the Board of education, or to call the Commissioner and
then, all of a sudden, we’re getting the phone call. Be like, no, don’t do that. You know.
Give them less days. You know you’re making too much of it. So, which one are we
doing here?
Participant 7 indicated deviations of policy towards leniency occurred based on the
circumstances and the discretion of the administrator responsible for discipline.
We may have a policy. And we all know that policy is put in place, so there’s no
discrimination, but I think that in everything there are exceptions to rules, to policy and I
think that we need to look at those situations on a case-by-case basis. I have a student that
constantly reports to school late. The policy says that if you report to school late, then
you receive an after-school detention. However, this student had to be relocated because
her and her family was burnt out.
The corollary to the narrative of Participant 7, however, is that deviations towards severity can
also occur based on the decision-maker’s appraisal of the situation. Consequently, school staff
and administrators often do not follow the policy established by the district and calling for the
neural application of exclusionary discipline.

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Awareness of Harmful Effects
The participants were aware of the harmful effects of exclusionary disciplinary methods
on the learning and social development of students. The narrative of Participant 1 discussed the
impact on learning.
We had out of school suspension (OSS) or in-school suspension (ISS) so even with ISS,
even though they were in the building they weren’t actually in the classroom actually
learning, we will provide work for them, or work will be sent, but it’s not the same as the
student actually being in the classroom … Typically, if a student is in OSS or ISS they
cannot participate in after school activities or any of their activities going on in the
building.
Participant 10 indicated: “when they’re not in school, you know, that takes a part of their social
development away. They’re also missing out on work in school. So, they’re getting behind on
their education.” Participant 10 offered:
Anytime they miss days from school. It does impact the student. So, it doesn’t matter if
they get home instruction, now that we have, you know. Chromebooks… when you have
teachers who are used to teaching in the classroom, and then all of a sudden, they have to
provide work for the student that’s suspended or missing time off from school. They
don’t. They’re not getting the resources that they need from the teacher. So, it makes it
difficult for that student to really learn.
Administrative Process
The participants described various administrative processes used with the application of
exclusionary discipline. According to Participant 5, a single teacher coordinator makes the
decision for ISS or OSS:

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We also have a team of teachers, slash disciplinarians who are responsible at every grade
level to handle infractions that may occur. So, the referral is made by anybody in the
building, teacher or support staff can make a referral. We have a system that we use for
that and the TC Teacher Coordinator for that student’s grade would respond to that
referral and either issue the in-school suspension or the out of school suspension.
The narrative does not mention criteria for referral to the teacher coordinator, which can be
relatively low based on the judgment and biases of teachers and staff. Participant 7 indicated
there was a process involved with exclusionary discipline involving information gathering and
input from other staff members prior to making a recommendation for the disposition of a case:
I’m involved in the hearing process on suspensions, expulsion, and disciplinary practices.
I am one of the people that makes a recommendation … I’m one of the people that make
a recommendation, as we know only the principal can suspend. In the school. I give
recommendations for suspension, and in giving the recommendation I gather the
information that I feel is pertinent in making that decision. That information would be
student behavior, student attendance, grades, things of that sort. So, I gather all that
information together and render that decision along with the input of others. Could be
input of teachers the kids and athletes could be the input of coach.
The narrative implies that the process of information collection is informal with the discretion of
the individual making the recommendation critical for determining the type and weight of the
information about the student, which creates an opportunity for bias to influence exclusionary
decision making.
Participant 8 discussed a more elaborate administrative process to impose expulsion or
assignment of the student to an alternative school:

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For example, for the student that brought a knife to school. Now we’re talking about a
disciplinary hearing. Now we’re talking about now you’re going to be, you know,
suspended, but there’s extra consequences. Now there’s a disciplinary hearing, and you
might go to another school. You might go to an alternative school, because now you
bought a weapon to school.
The process the participant describes creates the appearance of impartiality when making
exclusionary decisions, but nonetheless conceals the reality that individuals responsible for
educational decisions disproportionately impose punishment and exclusionary sanctions on
Black males.
Theme 2: Black Males
The participants’ narratives often avoided making an explicit connection between Black
male students and exclusionary discipline. Some of the participants suggested that the
administration of exclusionary measures did not take race into consideration, but close
examination of the narratives reveal racism and antiBlackness in decisions to exclude Black male
students. The narratives also recognize the harm caused by the atmosphere of racism in the
schools as well as the practice of excluding students. The exclusionary practices contributed to
the hostility of Black males towards the education system and the isolation from the school
community that are factors related to the school-to-prison pipeline.
The participants were aware that Black males received exclusionary discipline more often
than other students while only some of the participants attributed to racism. Participant 1
observed disparate treatment without discussing the cause by stating: “I’ve seen them [Black
males] being suspended more often. I’ve seen them put out a class more often … often and they
are put outside my office.” Participant 2 explicitly stated racism was present by noting:

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“Sometimes they’re not even given a chance. It’s just because of the color of your skin that you
are automatically guilty.” According to Participant 3, the disparate treatment of Black students
was due to a factor other than racism. The participant stated, “I still bet at the end of the day
suspension wise. I bet you the Blacks have more of a suspension rate. I think it has to do, you
know, it has to do with home life.” The statement offers a rationale for exclusionary practices
affecting Black males but remains racist in its fundamental assertion that Black students have
deficiencies in their home life that produces the school behaviors meriting exclusion from the
school community. Participant 4 had a similar rationale for the higher exclusionary rate of Black
males by stating: “I think there’s more fear of our African American students than there is any
other, absolutely. And I don’t know if that’s because they are more vocal. They’re more strong in
their stance.” The statement reflected underlying racist paradigms associated with antiBlackness
by suggesting Black male students are loud and strong, which engenders fear of aggression in
White-dominated society.
Some of the participants indicated that they try to remain impartial or neutral towards
students when making any disciplinary decision including decisions involving student exclusion,
which reflects the myth of colorblindness. The narrative of participant 2 stated:
It’s an easy way to just like. Get rid of the problem., get rid of them [Black male
students], get them out of the classroom. Get them out of the building. It’s a mentality if
They are the problem, we are just going to remove them because of where they come
from, or because of the color of their skin, or because they’re related to a gang, or they’re
related to a problem. I don’t know if it’s racism, or if it’s just an easy fix.

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The participant, however, avoided clearly identifying the exclusionary discipline targeting Black
male students as racist. Participant 9 also emphasized that exclusionary practices were racially or
ethnically neutral:
Hispanics, Blacks, it’s the personality, you know. You have some that have the same
personalities, some that come to school and do what they’re supposed to do. You have
some that you know, that are defiant of school rules, and do whatever they want to do. I
just had a Hispanic student on Friday who told me that he’s not gonna listen to me and
walked out of ISS, you know. So, it’s, you know. It really doesn’t matter whether black
or Hispanic, it’s same thing. I think. It just happens to be different personality again; I
think mostly it has to do with. You know the culture and environment.
Participant 6 equated Black male students with other minority students with the statement: “he
doesn’t speak English. What? You know, what? He’s just as much as the challenge as an English
speaking African American kid or English-speaking Hispanic kid.” The narratives exhibited the
concept of colorblindness through the effort to ignore or avoid acknowledging racial bias and
antiBlackness in exclusionary decision making. Embracing the myth of colorblindness enabled
the participants to justify decisions resulting in greater rates of exclusion of Black students with
the rationalization that the decision was based on factors other than race. The narratives fall short
of challenging racist exclusionary practices by failing to clearly discuss racially motivated
exclusionary practices.
While the narratives indicated the participants were aware of the discriminatory use of
exclusionary discipline with Black males in the educational system, only some of the participants
offered counter-stories challenging the disciplinary practices. Participant 9 noted the inherent
racism of exclusionary disciplinary practices in the schools for Black males:

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Sometimes we are sending kids out of school because they are suspected of smoking right
because they smell like it. They only came in all high right. I get that. But again, it’s part
of their [Black male] culture now, right? So why are we pushing them out?
The narrative confronted the disciplinary decisions as an attempt to extinguish aspects of Black
male behavior related to Black culture in the schools, which has the effect of curtailing learning
by Black students by alienating them and removing them from the school. The narrative
concerning classification by Participant 6 also challenged the racist basis for many student
classifications with the statement: “if the little African American boy, little Spanish boy, was
being what they call incorrigible and acting aggressive. He got a classified? And then when you
get to high school, you’re like, why is this kid classified?” The counter-story questions the
validity of the classification or formal or informal labeling equating race with aggression as a
practice reflecting the antiBlackness of American society.
Participant 5 also offered a counter-story explaining how racism embedded in American
society influences the exclusionary decision-making process impacting Black males in schools,
saying,
We [Black men] are misunderstood in many different ways. We are misunderstood
because of our backgrounds. We misunderstood because of our culture. We are
misunderstood because of our race; we are misunderstood due to racism and biases
towards people of color. These are primary reasons why people prejudge Black men. For
example, if you go to a store, a Black male or a Black man goes to a store. more than
likely people are looking at you and thinking you’re gonna steal, or you gonna become
violent. And a lot of times we become defensive because we don’t feel that we are being
treated fairly. We don’t feel that life is fair in terms of how we are living, in society, even

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in our own communities, we have to deal with those issues in terms of people prejudging
us, based on our race or what they perceive us to be. We get judged as Black men period.
The counter-story described ubiquitous racism in American culture. The counter-story embraced
the proposition that racism and antiBlackness is a fundamental part of society having a negative
effect on every aspect of life. The exclusion of Black males in schools is only one manifestation
of racism.
Theme 3: Recommendations
The theme of recommendations contains elements related to changes of the disciplinary
practices to avoid excluding Black males from school. The recommendations focus on school
decision makers becoming more flexible in understanding the reasons behind the behaviors of
Black males that could lead to less punitive disciplinary methods. At the same time, many
participants emphasized that Black males must conform to the rules established for behavior by
the schools. Only a few of the participants offered ideas about changes to school disciplinary
procedures that may reduce exclusion of Black males while having a more significant impact on
addressing the underlying antiBlackness and racism embedded in the educational system.
Participant 5 summarized the recommendation for changing disciplinary systems by
suggesting teachers and administrators have “empathy for young people, especially young Black
men, is key to changing our condition. having them become more connected in their environment
in a positive manner.” Recognizing the factors contributing to the student’s behavior is the first
step towards understanding, which represents some movement away from the antiBlackness
paradigms about Black males. Empathy and understanding are also necessary to support the use
of non-punitive disciplinary measures in the schools.

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A narrative from Participant 6 emphasized the importance of presenting discipline to
Black males as a corrective rather than punitive action as well as avoiding exclusionary
practices, sharing:
Making it sound like this is the only solution we can use. This is the only way we can
correct them is by suspending them … I don’t think you need less school. I think you
need more school. You should be in school more than anybody else. And when you’re
acting like that, why am I sending you on a vacation? That’s a vacation, as far as I’m
concerned, we just need to change that. It needs to be known as we’re correcting your
behavior.
The approach would result in using methods that correct behavior while retaining the Black male
student in the school learning environment. The approach, however, may also allow
administrators to continue embracing the paradigms of antiBlackness by suggesting that the
Black male student needs to change behavior to conform to the standards of White society.
In contrast, Participant 5 offered a counter-story involving both personal experience and
recommendations concerning alternatives to exclusionary discipline that appears to reduce the
possibility of perpetuating racism in the disciplinary process.
Then I was introduced to the [name redacted] Academy in upstate New York, where I
was working at, which was a residential facility, and it had about, I’d say, about 700
students. It was like a mini university. It had about 700 students, males, and females they
were, mostly Black males at that time at this particular facility, and I was really
impressed. When I was going through my training, I was impressed to see that these
students that I’m talking about were from the 5 boroughs in New York City, and they
were coming to upstate New York to this residential area. And there were no fences, no

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bars, nothing to detain the students. They could come and go anytime they wanted. So,
I’m trying to understand these students who were labeled as problematic kids. Why are
they still here when they could walk away at any time, and not that it doesn’t happen, but
for the most part wanted to be there. I realized and learned quickly that the key was
establishing a sense of belonging. I was really moved by that, that you can actually use
language and words, to get people to really understand and internalize a new value
system in which students learned to make better decisions for themselves.
The counter-story effectively challenges all the justifications offered for disparate treatment of
Black males by implicitly recommending developing relationships that create a sense of
belonging to the school community. The recommendations are not merely theoretical, because
the actual experience of the participant in an alternative school setting supports these
recommendations. An additional implication of the narrative is the need to completely change
the educational environment for Black males for learning to occur successfully. The alternative
school environment was based on a climate of cooperation and trust in the learning endeavor
rather than the climate of suspicion and hostility toward Black male students the participants
described in the mainstream educational environment.
Discussion for Research Question 2
The themes of exclusionary discipline, Black males, and recommendations were similar
in their discussions about the disciplinary decisions resulting in the disproportionate exclusion of
Black males from schools. The analysis of the narratives in the three themes revealed that
antiBlackness embedded in the school culture influenced decisions concerning Black male
students. The decisions to exclude students from school were related more to beliefs about
aggressive or defiant Black male behavior than to any general philosophy of educational

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discipline. The literature suggested that exclusionary practices of Black males have been a
common practice in schools that contributes substantially to the school-to-prison pipeline
(Cueller & Markowitz, 2016).
The narratives found in the themes of exclusionary discipline and Black males indicated
that the individuals responsible for discipline at the district and school levels believe that
exclusion is an appropriate approach to maintain order and safety in the schools. The
participants, however, also recognized that exclusionary discipline harms students long-term by
isolating them from the school community and undermining learning. The perceptions of the
participants concerning the academic and social damage to the development of Black males from
exclusionary discipline reflected the findings of other researchers such as Pyne (2019). The
literature further suggested that the use of exclusionary discipline increases the risk the student
will enter the school-to-prison pipeline (Dutil, 2020; Milner, 2019). Previous research also
determined that the discrimination also creates racial trauma producing anger and hostility
among Black students, undermining willingness to learn in the school environment (Galan et al.,
2022).
The narratives related to the theme of Black males also implied that antiBlackness is part
of the school environment, fostering overreaction to the normal behaviors of Black male
students. The literature noted that anti-Blackness embedded in educational institutions plays a
significant role in decisions to exclude Black students (Epperly et al., 2020; King et al., 2019;
Saito, 2020). The participants often attributed the exclusionary practice to racism with statements
indicating that the color of skin or beliefs about aggressive Black male behavior motivated
exclusionary discipline decisions. The findings are consistent with the discussions of other

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researchers concerning fear of Black violence in the schools (Henry et al., 2022) and the inability
of the school to accommodate Black cultural norms among students (Love, 2019).
In the information related to the theme of Black males, some of the participants suggested
the disciplinary decisions were colorblind and racially neutral. According to Bell (2018),
colorblindness is an effort to obscure the effects of racism by claiming a discriminatory action is
race neutral. The rationales offered by the participants for exclusionary discipline included
membership in a gang and poor home life as well as assertions that discipline for Black males
was no different than discipline for other minority groups. Even among the participants offering
rationales for disparate exclusionary practices, the narratives contained information providing
evidence of racism embedded in the school culture. Overall, the results of the narrative analysis
are consistent with the observations of researchers such as McNeal (2022) who concluded that
racism in educational institutions is a significant contributor to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Results for Research Question 3: Restorative Teaching and Learning
Research question 3 asked: How do school personnel regard the use of restorative
teaching and learning practices for changing the exclusionary practices feeding the school-toprison pipeline? The context for RQ3 was the reaction of teachers and administrators to
exclusionary discipline for Black males that prompted exploration of the alternative of using
practices based on restorative justice. In general, the analysis of the narratives determine that the
participants favored the theory of restorative justice and the use of restorative practices as an
alternative to exclusionary discipline because of the emphasis on healing, repairing the harm that
the assailants feel in addition to accepting responsibility for harm caused to others, and avoiding
disruption to the learning process by keeping students in school. The analysis also identified
substantial variation in the way the schools implemented restorative practices. The literature

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contains arguments suggesting the use of restorative practices in the school reduces conflict and
promotes a sense of inclusion in the school community, which decreases the use of exclusionary
discipline (Fronius et al., 2019; Hall et al., 2021). Some of the literature also described the
application of practices based on restorative justice in some schools resulting in students
recognizing they are part of a learning community (Kreger & Cairoli, 2019). Based on data
concerning implementation of restorative practices in schools, researchers also argued that
restorative practices can alter the school-to-prison pipeline (Anyon et al., 2016; Basford et al.,
2020).
The two themes related to RQ 3 emerging from the narrative analysis were restorative
practices and recommendations. The theme of restorative practices focused on the narratives
supporting the use of specific restorative practices. The theme of recommendations contained
suggestions for how to implement restorative practices in the schools.
Theme 1: Restorative Practices
The theme of restorative practices implicitly reflected the desire of the participants to find
an alternative to the present disciplinary process leading to exclusionary discipline of Black male
students. The rationale for using practices based on restorative justice was the ability to resolve
disputes among students and to increase the sense of connection to the school as a community,
which could lead to fewer disciplinary problems. The narratives also recognized the limitations
of restorative practices for more serious disciplinary offenses as well as the difficulty with
obtaining sufficient resources to support restorative justice practices in larger schools.
Participant 1 indicated that the school was using restorative practices relying on
establishing positive peer culture, sharing:

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We actually implement positive Peer Culture which is a form of restorative practices
because it teaches the students to be able to work through their issues. It teaches them to
be able to actually have empathy and sympathy towards other people, and to be able to
resolve complex issues or circumstances. Currently the restorative practices have helped
students to be able to actually be able to coexist even when students have severe
differences, they are able to work through them let things go.
Participant 2 was also in a school using restorative practices and explained:
It had made a huge, huge difference because we’re able to give the students an
opportunity to speak and to listen to one another, and to become more aware of the
feelings of others in how their behavior impacts others and how they feel as well.
The narratives contained the implication that the objective of the restorative process was to
instruct students they were part of a larger community. Building relationships with other students
and teachers was an essential element of the process. For Black male students, connection to a
community could reduce the sense of alienation resulting from antiBlackness in the schools.
Implicit in the narrative is the opportunity provided by restorative practices to tell counter-stories
that challenge the antiBlackness practices found in the school that lead to exclusion of Black
males.
Participant 3 discussed the use of restorative practices for students that are returning to
school after a suspension. The participant noted that the underlying conflict resulting in the
suspension often remains unresolved and should be addressed, sharing:
They’ve been doing restorative practice circles here. If you suspend them in the
beginning and they come back, they gotta come back to school, so that conflict is still
ongoing. So, you have to have some kind of intervention here and a reason for

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intervention, and make sure everybody feels whole and try to solve the problem. Now.
Sometimes when you think it is solved and it comes back again, and you gotta take other
strategies with it.
The narrative stressed the importance of attempting to resolve problems such as fights through
conversations among the individuals involved with the goal of settling the underlying dispute.
Although the approach was not invariably successful, it nonetheless provided a mechanism for
maintaining order and discipline in the school community by building relationships.
The actual process of using restorative practices varied in schools but the approach
follows the general description provided by Participant 6, who explained:
We set the rules at the beginning of the meeting that everybody you know we’re gonna
do the old-fashioned round robin approach, and everybody’s gonna get a chance to speak.
No one’s gonna interrupt, and that’s been a pretty positive thing that we’ve been doing a
lot of situations have been resolved that way.
Participant 7 described a different process in which students can learn conflict resolution
methods both before and after a dispute occurs, saying:
We have an on our campus what’s called a peace room, and it’s just that where students
are able to come together, and they’re able to experience how to resolve their differences.
How do you? How do you sit, how do you talk to people? Whereas if we would have had
a conversation about our differences, this could have been resolved. It didn’t have to
result in a physical altercation between the 2 of us.
The different restorative practices focused on assisting students with developing approaches to
de-escalating conflicts with other students or teachers. By reducing conflict, students could

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theoretically avoid some of the behavioral issues leading to exclusionary discipline, retaining
more Black males in the learning environment.
Participant 6 described a restorative discipline approach relying on parent involvement in
the process:
We’ll call the parent like you gotta come get him because he’s way out of hand. He’s
actually consuming too much of our time. He’s taking an hour, 2 hours out of my day
dealing with one individual student because they’re misbehaving or they’re being defiant.
No problem. Let’s call your parent. They can come, get you, soon as they come in, we’ll
have a restorative meeting. We’ll bring in the teachers that are being impacted. With this
behavior. We’ll have teacher reports. We’ll have the guidance counselor. There. We’ll all
sit down and let’s figure out. Why is this student behaving in this manner? Why are they
doing this? What’s going on here? Let’s get to the root cause, because he didn’t just get
up this morning and say, I’m a be like this today. Something led to this.
The participant believed involvement of the parent increased the possibility that the student
would acknowledge inappropriate behavior and accept responsibility for repairing any harm
caused by the behavior. Including parents in the process also expanded the reach of the
restorative practices into the community.
Participant 8 stated that she had a “restorative mindset” and described how she
approached discipline:
When I talk to the students, when they’re getting a consequence, I talk to them. I do a lot
of talking to them, because I explain to them, look, this is what happened. This is what
you’re gonna receive. But let’s talk about what happens if you continue to do it, let’s talk
about what are the long-term consequences.

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The method described by the participant did not vary significantly from traditional disciplinary
methods because the focus remained on student consequences rather than creating relationships
with the school community to avoid exclusionary discipline. Another approach described by
participant 9 was the use of outside counselors to talk with students at risk, which also did not
appear to vary significantly from a traditional disciplinary approach.
The participants were realistic in their assessment of the value of restorative practices and
recognized the approach would not benefit some students. Participant 6 explained:
Sometimes the restorative justice circle won’t work. That positive peer culture won’t
work because it’s beyond and we can’t. We have to bring that young person back down
and deal and heal them as a whole. It’s a whole. You gotta deal with him as a whole. It
can’t just be bits and pieces all when he’s in school. If you don’t understand when they
do stuff outside of school. It always spills back into the school, and we have to deal with
them then as well.
The perspective was consistent with the propositions of AAMT concerning the various levels of
influence affecting attitude and behaviors from macro-and-meso systems. The macrosystem
involving Black culture, street or gang culture, and the personal situation of the student outside
of school had over behaviors and receptiveness to restorative practices.
The participants believed using restorative practices was time consuming and required
administrators to commit sufficient resources. Participant 1 indicated “we have people trained in
positive peer culture,” which suggests the school must ensure some members of the staff receive
the training. Participant 5 also indicated that the degree of administrative support and training of
staff can function as a barrier to implementing restorative practices in the school, stating:

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It [restorative practices] impacts it [the learning environment] a great deal in a negative
and in a positive way, again, based on the staff that you have and based on the leadership
style that you have fallen under. It is also impacted based on the team’s approach to
discipline. Based on the staff, being on the same team on the same side of things may
determine what effect you most likely will get out of that situation.
Participant 2 cited the difficulties of implementing restorative practices in schools with large
numbers of students because of the amount of staff time required. The narratives implied that
attempting to use restorative practices with untrained staff or insufficient resources may be
difficult and can have a negative effect on students and the learning environment. Consequently,
lack of support from principals and district leadership could undermine the ability to implement
an effective restorative justice approach to discipline in schools.
Theme 2: Recommendations
Generally, the recommendations of the participants emphasized increasing the use of
practices based on restorative justice in the schools as a substitute for suspensions. The
recommendations, however, identified variations in the specific restorative methods and
sometimes called for an expansion of existing programs. In addition, the recommendations for
restorative practices focused on dialogue between students and peers as well as between students
and teachers to develop alternatives to exclusionary discipline. A recommendation from
Participant 9 summarized the cheerful outlook and recommendations of the participants toward
restorative practices. The participant called for increasing the use of restorative practices for
disciplinary infractions: “I think we should push for more restorative practices instead of
automatic suspensions. And this is including for our Black students. You know, our African
American students need this, we need to understand the environments that they come from.”

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According to a narrative by Participant 4, it may be possible to combine restorative
practices with OSS for students involved with more serious infractions of discipline such as
bringing weapons or drugs into the school.
We have restorative currently that we are using, and I’m not sure that it’s being used to
its fidelity. However, there’s one person that handles that. And what happens is when a
student is sent out of school suspension, they are referred to this person for restorative
services … if used with fidelity, I think that students can transition back into the
environment, and the infractions will begin to lessen. Because if it’s used the right way
again, the understanding of the why would come and we will be able to work with that
student better. There would be an understanding and a relationship building.
The recommendation combined restorative practices with exclusionary discipline ostensibly to
meet the needs of the student. The use of restorative practices following suspensions may be in
use in some schools as noted by the discussion of participant 3 in the theme of restorative
practices. The goal of the process, however, was to ensure the student conforms to school
behavioral requirements. The approach to restorative justice, however, did not address the
embedded racism and antiBlackness in the school environment leading to disproportionate
exclusion of Black males.
A particular difficulty with the narratives was the lack of agreement concerning the
nature of restorative practices. For example, Participant 10 recommended replacing exclusionary
practices with “Different types of like a restorative practice, something that includes them
instead of they don’t have to be removed from school to learn a lesson or learn something.” The
comment suggested that any type of disciplinary process that did not lead to exclusion could be
considered a restorative practice. Participant 4 recommended talking with students at their grade

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level in informal meetings as a restorative practice. The approach was “an opportunity to talk to
your grade level based on their grade level. And then we call those community meetings right
now. So, we do that once a month.” While the community meetings could build relationships
with teachers and the school, they may not be helpful for replacing exclusionary discipline
practices. Participant 1 suggested incorporating a requirement for schools to ensure “restorative
practices is [sic] part of their code of conduct.” Such a requirement would result in some degree
of agreement concerning the specific restorative practices that should be used by schools in the
district.
Participant 1 provided a narrative recommending the implementation of a standard
approach throughout each district,
I just think that it has to be definitely a systematic change. It can’t be school by school,
just making small changes and adding in restorative practices. I also think that it should
be district wide. School districts need to look at truly incorporating restorative practices
in all of their schools, and not just select schools. Because if you are a parent of a Black
male and your child just happens to be at a school that does not practice restorative
practices. Then, you know, you may be prone to your child being suspended or kicked
out of school.
The narrative demonstrated that the participant considered discipline based on restorative justice
principles to be an alternative to exclusionary discipline. The narrative did not provide a
recommendation of the specific restorative practices to adopt but rather recommended how a
restorative program should be implemented.

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Discussion for Research Question 3
The themes of restorative practices and recommendations were similar in their emphasis
on the benefits of restorative practices for students to help them build relationships in the school
community. Another similarity was the call for increased use of restorative practices in the
school as an alternative to traditional disciplinary methods. The information provided in the
participants’ narratives is consistent with the discussions by researchers concerning the value of
restorative practices for promoting healing and community in the schools (Fronius et al., 2019).
The discussions of the participants differed from the literature by failing to connect the use of
restorative justice practices in the schools to a reduction in racism and antiBlackness as described
by Henry et al. (2022). The participants frequently avoided direct discussion of racial and
antiBlackness issues, which may have reflected the general climate in the schools concerning
challenging disparate treatment of Black males. In addition, the narratives suggested that some
schools may not have sufficient staff training and resources to expand the scope of restorative
practices. The arguments of Agudelo et al. (2022) and Henry et al. (2022) determined that
restorative justice programs in schools require extensive teacher training in de-escalation
techniques, changes in school climate, and staff reflection to be effective.
The analysis of the narratives in the themes also revealed the use of restorative practices
in the two categories described by Hall et al. (2021). The first category was use of restorative
justice practices proactively to build relationships and a sense of belonging to the community.
The second category was use of restorative justice practices reactively after a student breach of
the disciplinary code of the school. The proactive approach to restorative practices could have
the most significant effect in reducing the incidence of exclusionary discipline with Black males

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by promoting greater understanding of the causes of behaviors among school personnel and
acceptance of responsibility among students.
The various narratives provided by the participants, however, did not clarify the most
effective restorative justice practices or methodology for use in the schools. Morgan (2021b)
noted the research concerning the effectiveness of restorative justice programs in schools has
produced mixed results, possibly because of variations in practice approaches or methods. Given
the uncertainty concerning the optimal restorative practices, the use of practices standardized at
the district level that was part of the recommendations may be the best approach for ensuring
equal access and for promoting equal outcomes in schools.

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Summary
The analysis of the narratives related to RQ1 focused on the themes of philosophy, Black
males, and personal experience influencing implementation of the disciplinary process for Black
males. The results of the analysis indicated the participants viewed discipline in the schools as a
graduated process to instill in students the ability to function in society and to maintain order and
discipline in the schools. The themes reflected the CRT concept of false empathy by suggesting
schools implemented disciplinary measures for the benefit of Black students. The analysis also
revealed that the participants were aware of disproportionate application of discipline to Black
male students with various rationales offered for the disparate outcome including the assumption
that Black males were troublesome and aggressive. The participants also claimed the decisions
concerning discipline were colorblind, which suggested they refused to recognize the embedded
racism in school culture. The analysis of the data related to personal experience determined that
the participants conformed their behaviors to school expectations when they were students,
which created the expectation that current students should also conform to school expectations.
The firsthand experiences also supported the perspective that the purpose of discipline was to
prepare students for future life.
The analysis of the narratives of the themes related to RQ2 of exclusionary discipline,
Black males, and recommendations for change emphasized the way administrators make
decisions concerning suspension or expulsion of Black males. The analysis showed that schools
utilized exclusionary discipline for Black males who did not respond to less punitive measures.
The participants, however, recognized suspension or expulsion harmed the students by depriving
them of learning opportunities. The participants noted that schools used exclusionary discipline
more often with Black males as the result of racism and antiBlackness in the school culture.

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Nonetheless, the participants often claimed they were colorblind in the application of discipline.
The recommendations for change related to the disciplinary process for Black males called for
more flexibility in decision making. At the same time, the recommendations emphasized the
need for Black males to conform their behavior to the requirements of the school.
The analysis of the narratives related to RQ3 focused on the use of practices related to
restorative justice using the two themes of restorative practices and recommendations. The
participants believed restorative practices were a viable alternative to exclusionary discipline for
Black males. They argued that restorative practices could reduce disciplinary problems by
developing relationships with students and teachers and by fostering a sense of connection with
the school community. There was variation in opinions concerning the optimal approach to
restorative practices or the threshold at which schools should use exclusionary discipline.
Recommendations included expanding the scope of restorative practices in the schools.

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Chapter Five: Discussion
The problem investigated in this study was the decision-making processes of school
personnel resulting in the disproportionate use of punitive exclusionary disciplinary practices
with Black male students. The purpose of this qualitative critical narrative inquiry study was to
investigate the attitudes and perspectives influencing school personnel responsible for making
disciplinary decisions for Black male students contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. The
three research questions guiding the study were.
1. RQ1: How do school personnel explain the process in their school for implementing
discipline for Black students?
2. RQ2: How are decisions made to suspend or expel Black male students from school
for disciplinary infractions?
3. RQ3: How do school personnel regard the use of restorative teaching and learning
practices for changing the exclusionary practices feeding the school-to-prison
pipeline?
The following sections contain a discussion of the findings, implications for practice,
recommendations for future research, and a conclusion.
Findings
The findings indicated that decision-making processes in schools relying on a graduated
approach result in Black males receiving a disproportionate amount of discipline. The decisions
that school administrators make subject Black males to higher rates of suspensions and
expulsions compared to students from other racial or ethnic groups. The findings also revealed
racism and antiBlackness found in school culture contributes to the disciplinary decisions
concerning Black males. An additional finding was the perspective that the use of restorative

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justice teaching and disciplinary practices could reduce the rate of exclusion of Black males. The
following subsections contain a discussion of the findings grouped by their relationship to the
research questions of the study. In addition, sections address implications for practice,
recommendations for future research, and a conclusion.
Processes for Disciplining Black Males
A finding of the study was that the disciplinary processes in the schools used a graduated
approach of adjusting the disciplinary measure based on whether the previous disciplinary
method achieved conformity to the expectations of administrators responsible for discipline. The
disciplinary process had the ostensible objectives of securing compliance with the rules of
conduct to maintain order and safety in the schools and to prepare students for life in society as
adults. Failure of the student to follow school rules eventually leads to the most severe form of
discipline resulting in exclusion from school, particularly for Black males. The findings answer
RQ1 by identifying the approach to discipline for students including Black males. The finding
was not consistent with the literature concerning the use of zero-tolerance policies in school
calling for immediate punitive responses for certain infractions of the disciplinary code rather
than graduated discipline approaches (Basford et al., 2020; Milner, 2019; Morgan 2021b). The
discrepancy between the findings and the literature may be the result of efforts to reduce the use
of exclusionary discipline, as some participants noted.
Another finding of the study related to processes for disciplining Black males was the
dichotomy between persuasive discipline and coercive punishment with discipline coordinators
often arbitrarily determining the type of discipline for Black students. Teachers and
administrators classified Black students as troublesome and aggressive to justify punitive
discipline, which is a manifestation of racism and antiBlackness in the school culture that

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influenced disciplinary decisions. The findings answer RQ1 by explaining the unofficial
processes involving implicit racist paradigms that result in continued oppression of Black males
in the educational system. The findings are consistent with the perspective of Sojoyner (2013)
concerning antiBlackness permeating the educational system and of Muniz (2020) concerning
the paradigm of Black males as a threat to society.
An additional finding of the study concerning disciplinary processes for Black males
involved the way individual experiences of most participants influenced their belief that the
objective of discipline for students was conformity to the rules of behavior of the school.
Conformity was necessary to maintain an orderly and safe learning environment. In addition, the
experience of some participants with punitive behaviors in their past affected their belief that
some students and particularly aggressive students require punishment. The finding also answers
RQ1 by contributing to the understanding of the punitive exclusionary processes used to
discipline Black males when the decision maker perceives the student as aggressive. The finding
is similar to the position of Dutil (2020) who argued that punishment of minorities is necessary
to maintain the existing social order based on White supremacy.
Decisions to Suspend or Expel Black Males
A finding of the study related to decisions to suspend or expel Black males was the
excessive use of exclusionary discipline despite the implicit practices in the school of
considering each case on an individual basis. The decision makers relied on the district policies
nominally mandating suspension or expulsion and the need to maintain order to justify exclusion
of Black male students at higher rates than other students. The finding also determined that
decision makers claimed their choices were colorblind and impartial despite the disproportionate
impact on Back students. Although decision makers were aware of the harmful effects of OSS

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and expulsion on learning among Black students, they persisted with the practice. The findings
provide an answer to RQ2 concerning how decisions are made to suspend or expel Black
students by indicating that adhering to policy rather than using discretion resulted in higher rates
of suspension of Black males. The findings are similar to the conclusions of Gopalan and Nelson
(2019) determining that adhering to policies concerning exclusions has a disproportionate impact
on Black students. The findings also coincide with the argument of Milner et al. (2019)
concerning reliance on the rationale of maintaining order in the schools as the motivation for
expelling Black students for non-violent offenses.
Another finding concerning decisions to suspend or expel Black males was the
determination that the participants offered various rationales to justify disparate exclusion rates
for Black male students. The rationales often relied on antiBlackness paradigms such as fear of
violence, gang affiliation, or poor home life among Black students to warrant exclusion. Some of
the participants, however, offered counter-stories challenging the decision-making practices
leading to the exclusion of Black males by demonstrating how racism and antiBlackness
embedded in American society influences school administrators. These findings answer RQ2 by
revealing the influence of racism on decisions to exclude Black male students for disciplinary
infractions. Previous research also determined that racism and antiBlackness contribute to
disparate treatment of Black males in school disciplinary decisions (Nelson & Williams, 2019;
Sojoyner, 2013).
An additional finding related to suspension and expulsion of Black males was recognition
among many of the participants that the disciplinary decision-making processes resulted in
disproportionate rates of ISS, OSS, and expulsion of Black males. The participants suggested the
school officially expand the scope of alternative disciplinary approaches to increase

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understanding of Black males and to encourage Black males to develop a connection to the
school environment. A counter-story challenged existing decision-making processes through an
example of an alternative school with a predominately Black male population avoiding use of
exclusionary discipline by substituting trust and persuasion for coercion. The findings answered
RQ2 by demonstrating that decision makers in schools are aware of alternatives to exclusionary
discipline but have not used the alternatives sufficiently to eliminate exclusionary discipline for
Black males. The findings are similar to the conclusion drawn by Marcucci (2020) concerning
the lack of reflection among teachers and administrators concerning the actual motivation behind
exclusionary policies for Black males despite recognition of the benefits of other approaches to
discipline. The findings are also indirectly related to research by Martinez-Prather et al. (2016)
who determined that SROs assigned to schools claimed they would rather use alternative
disciplinary methods with students but were constrained by law and policy to arrest students
leading to exclusion from school.
Use of Restorative Practices
A finding of the study was the perspective among school personnel that restorative
practices were a viable alternative to exclusionary discipline for most disciplinary situations
involving Black males. Restorative practices were in use in some schools, which encouraged
students to take responsibility for the harm they cause with their behaviors and to develop
relationships to become part of a school learning community. Restorative practices were also
helpful for reintegrating students returning to the school from an OSS. An additional finding was
that restorative practices varied in the schools but followed a general format of discussion in
which students can speak without interruption to express opinions and grievances. The
participants believed that restorative practices were helpful to address behavioral issues for many

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students but could not fully replace traditional discipline. The participants further believed the
use of restorative disciplinary practices creates a platform for Black students to express counterstories that challenge the racism and antiBlackness that is part of the school climate. The findings
answered RQ3 by showing that school personnel consider restorative practices important for
reducing but not for fully eliminating exclusionary practices. The findings differed from some of
the conclusions of other researchers such as Henry et al. (2022) who indicated it would be
possible to use restorative justice and practices to eliminate antiBlackness and exclusionary
discipline from the schools.
Another finding related to the use of restorative practices was the variation in the
approaches to restorative practices in the schools. While some schools used restorative
discussion circles with rules for participation to promote dialogue to end disputes and to suggest
reparations for wrongdoing, other schools used a more didactic approach with school personnel
holding meetings with groups of students to encourage them to be part of the school community.
Recommendations for change called for a standardized approach in a district to ensure that all
schools used the same restorative justice methods. The findings answered RQ3 by showing the
varied perspective of school personnel towards implementation of restorative practices. The
findings concerning restorative practices used in the schools did not always contain the basic
elements outlined by Tyner (2020) of identifying harm, holding an offender accountable, and
restoring the offender to the school community. The variability in the approaches in different
schools, however, is a finding consistent with the position of Schiff (2018) concerning the way
that political and organizational factors in schools and districts impact the ability to use
restorative practices to meet the needs of students.

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Implications for Practice
The study has several implications on racist histories, restorative justice practices, and
Black teachers and administrators advocating for more equitable disciplinary approaches. The
study delves into the practical ramifications of the research findings on addressing the
disproportionate use of exclusionary disciplinary practices with Black male students in K-12
public schools. This critical examination of the implications aims to bridge the gap between
theory and practice, shedding light on actionable steps that can be taken to mitigate the schoolto-prison pipeline phenomenon. By exploring the practical implications derived from the
research outcomes, this section offers valuable insights into potential strategies for reforming
disciplinary approaches and fostering a more equitable educational environment. The subsequent
conclusion of this section will synthesize these implications, providing a roadmap for educators,
policymakers, and stakeholders to enact meaningful change in disciplinary decision-making
processes that support the academic and overall success of Black male students.
Address Racist Histories and Assumptions
One key recommendation stemming from the study’s findings is for educational
professionals to actively acknowledge and confront the racist underpinnings embedded within
school policies, communication norms, and behavioral assumptions directed at Black male
students, all of which contribute to the perpetuation of the school-to-prison pipeline. For
instance, schools could consider hiring community liaisons who are attuned to inherent racist
practices within disciplinary systems. These liaisons would collaborate with disciplinary teams to
ensure that student perspectives are understood and taken into account during the decisionmaking process. This initiative would serve as a critical checks and balances mechanism, helping
to mitigate the impact of biases and prejudices in disciplinary actions.

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These ideals can help schools implement comprehensive professional development
programs aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of historical and systemic racism,
particularly as it pertains to disciplinary practices. They can function as a foundation
encouraging educators to critically examine their own biases and challenge ingrained stereotypes
about Black male behavior. For example, teachers could engage in reflective exercises where
they analyze their own disciplinary decisions and consider how implicit biases may have
influenced their actions. Additionally, it can help design curricular interventions to integrate
diverse perspectives and histories to promote empathy and cultural competence among staff. For
instance, history lessons could include narratives of Black excellence and resistance and
highlight the contributions of Black individuals to various fields and challenging negative
stereotypes.
Implement Restorative Justice Practices
A second implication for practice for educational professionals from the findings is
increasing use of restorative justice practices in schools as a means to eliminate exclusionary
discipline for Black males contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. The findings
demonstrated that restorative discipline is a viable approach to discipline that encourages
students to take responsibility for their actions and to support building relationships with other
students and school staff. Restorative practices to settle disputes were also helpful for Black
males returning to school after an OSS to reduce conflict with other students. Using restorative
discipline can potentially undermine some of the stereotypes associated with anti-Blackness such
as the perception that Black males are violent. Using restorative justice practices can also allow a
greater degree of self-determination for Black male students by remaining connected to the

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school community. The findings further imply that teachers and administrators should focus on
expanding the scope of restorative practices in the schools.
A very promising finding that evolved from the interviews was the positive peer culture
(PPC) behavior modification model which has been adopted and modified for utilization in the
school setting. This model has many core values and assumptions that enable staff and students
to communicate utilizing a shared culture of care and concern for one another. The primary
premise of this model is understanding that no one group controls the other, therefore the
understanding that the “power of the peer is much greater than the power of the authority”
(Brendtro & Vorrath, 2011; Eversley, 2017). This simply means that schools must learn to accept
the fact that the authority does not control students and staff members, they simply guide,
motivate, and direct the masses as opposed to controlling them. There were many other powerful
and poignant overarching concepts that drive this practice that have proved promising in my
research. Some of the driving forces behind this model also include the understanding of the 12
Problem Areas and the 10 Assumptions of positive peer culture. The 12 Problem areas help
provide a universal language the students use to identify with and communicate respectfully with
one another. This enables members of the culture to begin to self-identify their issues that are
impeding them from progressing. Additionally, there are 10 Assumptions, one being “demanding
greatness vs. demanding obedience”; gives you an idea of the power of this model when
implemented effectively (Brendtro & Vorrath, 2011; Eversley, 2017).
Empower Black Teachers and Administrators
A third implication for practice related educational professionals is the need for Black
teachers and administrators to challenge more vigorously the disciplinary practices resulting in
the exclusion of Black males from schools. The finding suggested that teachers and

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administrators often relied on rationales to support disparate disciplinary treatment of Black
males such as references to poor home life or the influence of gangs and other community
factors. Black male students would benefit if Black teachers and administrators directly
questioned examples of microaggressions and anti-Blackness that create a school climate
marginalizing and alienating Black male students. Another key aspect that arose from the
positive peer culture restorative justice model was the idea of totally reversing the responsibility
of the students by harnessing their innate ability to reject all forms of oppression as outlined in
the AAMT. This concept enables Black teachers and administrators to guide, motivate, and
direct Black students who are classified as rebellious to harness their natural leadership abilities.
Instead of punishing Black students for what comes naturally to them all teachers and
administrators should guide, motivate, and direct students through restorative and didactic
strategies.
Future Research
Future research should investigate the perceptions of Black male students towards
antiBlackness in school discipline to determine if they consider restorative justice practices as a
viable alternative to traditional disciplinary practices that can result in suspension or expulsion.
The current research investigated perceptions of teachers and administrators towards the
exclusion of Black males and found that the participants believed restorative practices would
provide a genuine benefit to Black male students for resolving disputes and creating closer
relationships in the school community. Confirming the potential benefit of restorative practices
with Black male students could provide guidance for planning restorative programs and support
requests for program resources from school districts.

122
Another area for future research is to take a deeper dive into the idea that the success and
mobility of a few Blacks in critical leadership positions actually stifle the progress in the fight
against disrupting racist practices for all people. Researching the impact of key individuals in
prominent positions who continue to perpetuate the same racist systems in which they were
trained makes it extremely challenging to systematically interrupt and eliminate racism in all
forms. This future research can serve as a training tool giving aspiring leaders the strategies and
techniques needed to harness their innate power to challenge racism in all forms.
The last area for future research is the assessment of the effectiveness of various
approaches to restorative practices in the schools for addressing racism and antiBlackness
contributing to alienation among Black males. While the current research determined that
schools use different restorative practices, there was no evidence suggesting that one restorative
practice is more effective than others for achieving specific goals such as improving
relationships with others in the school or accepting responsibility for action. Both quantitative
and qualitative research can provide insight concerning the most effective restorative justice
methods schools should use to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline.
Limitations and Delimitations
Several potential limitations concerning internal validity may have influenced the
representation of reality in this study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The topic of disciplinary
practices used with Black male students might have been sensitive for the participants,
particularly those in positions of authority in schools. Despite assurances of confidentiality,
participants might have been reluctant to fully disclose their attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs,
potentially leading to incomplete or inaccurate information. While qualitative research using
critical narrative inquiry allowed for co-construction of meaning with the participants (Nowack-

123
Dziemianowicz, 2020), my subjective experiences observing bias in the application of
exclusionary discipline to Black male students may have influenced my interactions with
participants and my interpretation of the data. Although efforts were made to mitigate the impact
of personal beliefs, there remains a possibility that these beliefs influenced the study’s findings.
I have recognized that the voices that are centered in the conversation developed in this
research are the voices of the teachers, school staff, administrators, law enforcement officials,
and policymakers who are assailants administering punitive measures of discipline to Black male
students. The voices that are missing in this conversation are the voices of the students and the
parents who are inexplicably impacted by these assailants and the community who elect the
policymakers.
Ultimately this study was delimited to the data collected from school personnel, including
administrators, teachers, support staff, and SROs, at two urban high schools. Qualitative research
typically cannot be generalized beyond the individuals and sites involved in the study (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018). Therefore, the findings of this study are applicable only to the participants
from the two high schools where data was collected. Factors specific to these schools, such as
policies or influences from the school board, may have affected disciplinary decisions. However,
the findings may offer insights into how attitudes, perspectives, and biases impact disciplinary
decisions among school personnel in similar institutions.
Conclusions
The findings of the study supported the conclusion that racism and antiBlackness remain
an undercurrent in the culture of educational institutions, influencing disciplinary decisions for
Black males. While the number of Black male students receiving ISS, OSS, and expulsions may
be decreasing because of the use of a graduated approach to discipline, the negative attitudes

124
towards Black males continue to be a factor in discipline and particularly in exclusionary
discipline. The implicit rationale for the exclusion of Black male students is the belief that Black
males are troublesome and violent. Teachers and administrators often label Black males a
behavioral problem with the label or classification following Black male students throughout
their time in school.
The findings also suggest that the desire among teachers and administrators to promote
order and safety in the schools is often greater than the desire to avoid the harm to learning and
socialization caused to Black males from exclusionary disciplinary practices. Many teachers and
administrators rationalize exclusionary decisions based on classifications of Black male students
and opinions about influences on students from conditions outside the school. Teachers and
administrators often claim they are colorblind and treat all students equally despite the higher
rates of exclusion of Black male students. Consequently, antiBlackness and desire to promote
conformity justified as a safety measure continue to result in exclusions of Black males and
contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.
The findings of the study further supported the conclusion that widespread
implementation of restorative justice principles and practices holds promise for eliminating the
school-to-prison pipeline. Restorative disciplinary practices have the potential to help students
take responsibility for their actions while providing a venue to promote understanding of Black
culture in the school, and also have the ability to reconnect alienated students with the school
community. Extensive implementation of restorative practices in schools will require a greater
commitment of resources for staff training and sufficient personnel available to conduct a
restorative justice session in response to disciplinary infractions. Only with a momentous change

125
to the antiBlackness in school culture and to the disciplinary procedures can schools effectively
eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline.

126
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Appendix A: Interview Protocol and Questions
Hello, my name is Zatiti Moody. I am a doctoral student at the University of California
doing research on the school-to-prison pipeline and its impact on Black male students in K–12
public schools in the United States. I am interested in understanding why school disciplinary
matters disproportionately overly represent Black males. Before we go any further, I want to
thank you for agreeing to participate in this study for the next 45–60 minutes. I know that your
information is valuable to my study as you are an expert in the field who can deeply contribute to
my understanding of this phenomenon/issue.
I want you to know that I will keep your candid responses to my questions completely
confidential as there will be no identifiers of you or the school or school district that you
represent. The purpose of this interview is to get your understanding of what you have
experienced regarding student discipline in schools. This interview will not be evaluative and
there will be no judgment made on any of your responses, I seek your open and honest feedback
as this data will help me to explore the complexities of this issue. As previously stated, I need
your consent to record this entire interview and any follow-up interviews needed to capture your
exact responses so I can analyze the data with precision and accuracy. May I have your
permission to continue with the recording?

141
Table A1
Interview Protocol
Interview questions Potential probes
R
Q
addresse
d
Key
concept
addressed
1. Tell me about
yourself and your background?
What types of
school did you attend
and/or work for?
R
Q2
Back
ground
2. What has been your
school experience as a student
and a professional?
What differences
have you noticed between
the schools you have
attended and/or worked
for?
R
Q2
Scho
ol
experience
3. Please explain the
disciplinary process in your
school
Tell me more? Give
me an example?
R
Q1; RQ2
Disci
plinary
procedures
4. Explain to me what
your experience has been with
issuing student discipline?
How does it make
you feel?
R
Q1; RQ2
Disci
pline vs.
punishment
5. What is the purpose
of student discipline?
What makes you
feel that way?
R
Q1; RQ2
Disci
pline vs.
punishment
6. Explain to me what
you consider to be
troubling/problematic
behaviors and how you make
decisions about this in schools?
Walk me through
that experience? Tell me
more about that?
R
Q1; RQ2
Bias
7. What do you do to
address these behaviors; give
me some solutions to
managing problematic
behaviors in school?
How has this
approach been successful?
Do you feel this approach
can be successful in
different locations?
R
Q3
Puni
tive
discipline,
restorative
practices

142
8. In what ways have
you experienced
administrators and/or schools
handling disruptions and
problematic situations
impacting on learning
opportunities for Black males?
Have you learned
what to do or what you
shouldn’t do in this realm?
R
Q1; RQ2;
RQ3
Priso
n industrial
complex,
school-toprison
pipeline
9. How are you involved
with decisions concerning
suspension or expulsion of
Black males from school?
Would you make
any changes in the way you
participate in the process?
R
Q1; RQ2
Disci
pline gap
10. What is your
philosophy on disciplining
students who violate school
norms, procedures, and
policies?
How did you
develop this level of
thinking? Tell me more?
R
Q1; RQ2;
RQ3
Disci
pline
philosophy
11. If you had unlimited
resources, explain what your
ideal strategies and
interventions would be to
manage student discipline in K12 public schools?
Have you
experienced this in
practice?
R
Q3
Prov
en
strategies
12. Explain how the
implementation of restorative
practices could have improved
the learning environment for
schools in which you have
worked?
How has
student/staff behavior
impacted instructional
delivery from your view?
R
Q3
Rest
orative
practices
13. Can you explain why
you think Black male students
are excluded from school at a
higher rate than any other subgroup of students?
Feel free to be
extremely candid in your
responses. Nothing you say
would offend me here. Can
you identify differences in
behavior of Black male
students?
R
Q2
Stru
ctural
racism
14. What changes
would you make to the
disciplinary process in your
How feasible are
these changes?
R
Q1; RQ2;
RQ3
Disci
plinary
procedures

143
school? and
restorative
practices
15. Is there anything
that you thought of during the
interview from your
experiences that may add to
my understanding of this issue?
Any questions that I
did not ask or anything that
you want to add?
R
Q1; RQ2;
RQ3
Follo
w-up

144
Appendix B: Recruiting Letter
Date:
Dear Educational Professional
As a graduate student at the University of Southern California, I am conducting research
as part of my doctoral degree. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of
disciplinary practices used with Black male students including both exclusionary and restorative
practices.
To be eligible to participate in the study you must be working as an administrator,
teacher, support staff, or security staff in a public school and responsible for student discipline.
In addition, you must have made a disciplinary decision regarding a Black male student in the
past year. I will conduct an interview lasting 45–60 minutes with participants taking place on the
internet using Zoom. I will make an audio and video recording of the interview purposes of
transcription. I will ask you to review your transcripts for accuracy. The review should take
approximately 30 minutes to complete. I will send you the transcripts of the interviews by email
approximately 1 week after the interview. I will keep all information you discuss in the
interviews confidential and identify you only by a number in all transcripts and records of the
interview.
If you agree to the interview, I will forward an informed consent document for you to
complete prior to the interview.
If you have any questions, please contact me at:
Sincerely,
Zatiti Moody

145
Appendix C: Informed Consent Form
You have been invited to participate in a research study to gain understanding of the disciplinary
practices used in high schools with Black male students. I have selected you for participation
because you have made disciplinary decisions concerning Black male students in high schools in
the past year. Please read this form and ask any questions before agreeing to participate in this
study. Zatiti Moody, a doctoral candidate at University of Southern California, is conducting this
study.
Background: The purpose of this study is to understand the perspectives and decision making of
administrators, teachers, support staff, and security staff in high schools concerning disciplinary
practices for Black male students. Increasing the understanding of perspectives and decisions
with respect to discipline in high schools could lead to use of methods that maintain discipline
while improving learning outcomes for Black male students.
Procedures: If you agree to participate in the study, I will interview you online via Zoom for
45–60 minutes. I will be the interviewer and will record the Zoom session. I will also ask you to
review the preliminary analysis of the content of the transcript of the interview emailed to you
one week after the interview, with the review expected to take 30 minutes.
Risks: The risks of this study are minimal and are similar to the risks you would encounter in
everyday life.
Benefits: Participants should not expect to receive a direct benefit from taking part in this study.
The findings of the study may also benefit society by developing practices that can improve
discipline and learning outcomes for Black male students.
Compensation: There is no compensation for participants in this study.
Confidentiality: I will keep all records related to the study confidential. In any sort of report I
might publish, I will not include any information that will make it possible to identify a
participant. I will store the research records securely and I will be the only person with access to
the records. All participants will receive a number with no records linking the number to their
identity.
Voluntary Nature of the Study: Participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision whether
to participate will not affect your current or future relationships with the school at which you are
employed. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at
any time.
Withdrawing from the Study: If you choose to withdraw from the study, please contact me at
the email address included in the next paragraph. If you withdraw, data collected from you will
be destroyed immediately and will not be included in this study.
If you have any questions, please contact me by email. ______________ ________________
Participant Zatiti Moody

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study investigated the way systemic racism affects the decisions made by school personnel when disciplining Black male high school students using exclusionary disciplinary practices of suspension or expulsion. It examined the disproportionate use of disciplinary practices excluding Black male students from school rather than the use of alternative approaches to address behavioral issues, such as restorative justice practices. This study identified that exclusionary discipline practices inhibit learning, creating conditions conducive to criminal behaviors (Anyon et al., 2016; Agudelo et al., 2021). Critical race theory and African American male theory provided the theoretical framework for the study by explaining the effects of systemic racism on institutions such as schools (Stavrou & Murphy, 2021; Stefancic & Delgado, 2010). It adopted a critical narrative research design to guide data collection using interviews with 10 school personnel responsible for making decisions and from documents related to disciplining Black male students at two urban high schools. I analyzed the data using narrative thematic analysis. The finding shows that antiBlackness embedded in school culture influenced decisions to suspend or expel Black males more often than other racial groups. Therefore, restorative justice practices should be recommended to reduce the incidence of expulsion by improving relationships and connecting the school community.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Moody, Zatiti Kufaa (author)

Core Title School-to-prison pipeline: an all-out assault on Black males in U.S. K-12 public schools

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2024-05

Publication Date 05/01/2024

Defense Date 04/22/2024

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag African American male theory,black male students,critical race theory,expulsion from school,in-school suspension,OAI-PMH Harvest,out-of-school suspension,restorative justice,school discipline,school-to-prison pipeline

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hinga, Briana (committee chair), Green, Alan (committee member), Rucker, Jerome (committee member)

Creator Email zmoody01@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113911996

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Format theses (aat)

Rights Moody, Zatiti Kufaa

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