Equitable Discipline

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Why it works

Research shows exclusionary discipline (suspensions, removals) is associated with worse outcomes and is applied disproportionately to some student groups, often for subjective offenses. Teachers who handle more behavior proactively in the classroom, examine their own referral patterns, and address the causes of behavior keep more students learning and reduce the disparities.

The research: Research on exclusionary discipline, disproportionality, and classroom-managed behavior.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: examine and reduce your removals

Teachers leave having examined what they send out and chosen one behavior to handle in the room instead.

Look honestly at what behaviors you send out of the room, and whether they are objective (safety) or subjective (disrespect, defiance).
Identify one type you could handle in the classroom instead, and how.
Check whether your responses fall unevenly on particular students.
Plan a proactive change that prevents the behavior.

Address the cause, keep them in the roomMost removable behavior can be handled in the classroom with relationship, routine, and a calm response. Removal should be rare, for genuine safety, not a default.

Facilitator notes

Distinguish objective from subjective offenses.
Examine patterns for bias honestly and without shame.
Handle more proactively, and reserve removal for safety.

Watch for subjective, uneven disciplineThe offenses most tied to bias are subjective ones like disrespect. Examine whether your responses fall unevenly, and respond to those behaviors in the room where possible.

Adapt it

Elementary: relationship and co-regulation first.
Secondary: private redirects and restorative repair over removal.
All settings: reserve removal for safety.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Equitable Discipline: keep them learning

Fewer, fairer removals: handle more in the room, examine patterns, reserve removal for safety.

Behaviors I send out (objective vs subjective):
One type I could handle in the room, and how:
Whether my responses fall unevenly:
A proactive change that prevents it:
What truly requires office or safety response:

Make it stick

Keep more students learning:

Handle more behavior in the room.
Examine your patterns honestly.
Bring a behavior you kept in class to the next PLC.

Common questions

Doesn't removing a disruptive student protect the rest of the class?

Briefly, but the removed student loses learning and often returns no better, and frequent removals harm the whole class climate. Handling more in the room usually works better.

What does disproportionate mean here?

Some student groups are suspended or referred at much higher rates, often for subjective offenses like disrespect, which signals bias worth examining, not just student behavior.

How do I handle serious behavior then?

Some behavior does require office involvement and safety responses. The goal is to reduce the unnecessary, subjective removals, not to ignore genuinely serious or unsafe situations.