Criminalizing education: the racialized link between school suspensions and arrests
Abstract
This study examines the bidirectional relationship between school suspensions and arrests, extending research on the school-to-prison pipeline beyond the suspension-to-arrest pathway. Using NLSY97 data and Wooldridge Dynamic Random Effects Probit models with lagged dependent variables, we account for students’ prior disciplinary and justice histories. Results show that while single fluctuations reduce later risks, chronic exposure escalates them. Stratified analyses reveal racial variation: chronic suspensions predict arrests for Black and White youth, immediate suspensions heighten arrest risk for Hispanic youth, and chronic arrests most strongly predict suspensions for White youth. These findings highlight arrests as consequential for shaping school discipline and underscore the need for dynamic, longitudinal approaches to inform equitable policy and interventions.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Education Discipline and Inequality
Critical Race Theory in Education
Legal Issues in Education
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 159–184
- Publication date
- 26 January 2026
- Language
- EN