Volume 3 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Research - Page 20

18 POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND THE DISPROPORTIONALITY OF SUBJECTIVE DISCIPLINARY REFERRALS FOR BLACK STUDENTS Alisha M. Brown, Ed.D. Introduction Every year, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights analyzes discipline data for the country. Nationwide, Black students represent 16% of student enrollment, but represent 27% of students referred to law enforcement and 31% of students involved in a school-related arrest. Conversely, White students represent 51% of enrollment, 41% of students referred to law enforcement, and 39% of those arrested. Black students are suspended and expelled three times greater than White students with 4.6% of White students being suspended compared to 16.4% of Black students (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2014). Lewis, Butler, Bonner, and Joubert (2010) utilized the Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) and Risk Index (RI) to properly investigate behavior occurrences for African American males in relation to their White counterparts. In the district of Lewis et al.’s (2010)study, 45% of Black students were given a three-day, out-of-school suspension penalty for acts of disobedience, and approximately 30% of Black students were recommended for in-school suspension (ISS) when cited for the same behavioral offense. Conversely, roughly 18% of White students received restricted recess for acts of disobedience, and 25% of White males who were referred for this same action also received restricted recess (Lewis et al., 2010). The results support the notion that “systematic and prevalent bias in the practice of school discipline” was the cause of the disproportionality (Lewis et al., 2010, p. 338). Cultural values of the school and the teacher ultimately shape what happens inside the classroom (Rothstein-Fisch & Trumbull, 2008). “What teachers consider to be 'discipline problems' are determined by their own culture, filtered through personal values and teaching style” (Johns & Espinoza, 1996, p. 9). Culturally responsive classroom management (CRCM) is a possible solution when the cultural synchronization of the classroom is misaligned. In order to make lasting changes, institutions should commit to direct experiences that result in philosophical changes (Haberman, 1991; Weinstein, Tomlinson- Clarke & Curran, 2004). Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) serves as an alternative to traditional reactionary forms of discipline in schools (Safran & Oswald, 2003). Through data driven and systemic processes, PBIS seeks to teach children how to change their own behavior in hopes of creating an environment conducive to learning. A growing body of research explores PBIS as a mediator of disproportionality among Black students in middle school. The literature proposes that while PBIS is effective in reducing the overall number of referrals for all student sub- populations, it does not close the discipline gap between Black students and their counterparts (Eber, Upreti, & Rose, 2010; Greflund, McIntosh, Mercer, & May, 2013; Wooten, 2015). The Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2019, VOL. 3, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd