A Guide for District and School Teams When Considering Policy to Address Discipline Disproportionality

This guide was designed to assist district and school teams in developing policies and procedures to reduce disproportionality in exclusionary discipline (e.g., referrals, suspensions, expulsions) where it is identified. Because most districts and schools have racial disproportionality, this guide will use race/ethnicity as the primary focus, although it can be used to address inequities for other groups, such as disability status, gender identity, or language status. The guide will describe and provide examples of key elements for policy and their application in schools. These examples can be included in board policies or district administrative rules and regulations. It also provides a process for assessing aspects of policies to make discipline practices more equitable. See Appendix A for a glossary of terms.