Mendoza, Martin (2020-07). Exclusionary Discipline Practices Effect on Hispanic Students and the Risk for Juvenile Justice Contact. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
Exclusionary school discipline has received attention due to its association with the school to prison pipeline (STPP) and juvenile justice contact. Studies have concluded disproportionate exclusionary practices among race, gender, and disability has become problematic in U.S. public schools. This trend of exclusionary discipline has funneled culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students into the STPP and a referral to juvenile justice. Hispanic students have become the fastest growing CLD groups in American public schools. Yet, there is little empirical research on exclusionary discipline practices (suspension and expulsion) and juvenile justice contact for Hispanic students and Hispanic English Language Learners (ELLs) with or at-risk for emotional behavior disorder (EBD). However, what is known about Hispanics is that they do experience overrepresentation in disability categories and received disproportionate number of disciplinary actions in schools. The purpose of this dissertation was: (a) to examine the intersections of race, gender and disability in explaining the risk for juvenile justice contact using a state database, representing a sample of adolescent students, and (b) to conduct a narrative literature review that seeks to identify gaps, trends in discipline practices, and capture the current state of school discipline and juvenile justice contact for Hispanic ELLs and non-ELLs with and without the risk for emotional behavioral disorder.
