Changes in Exclusionary Discipline Rates and Disciplinary Disproportionality Over Time in North Texas Independent School Districts

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Department

Educational Administration

Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2026

Abstract

The present study replicated the 2010 study conducted by Noltemeyer and McLoughlin, which examined changes in exclusionary discipline practices for Black students in Ohio schools. For the present study, research data was narrowed to the 2015–2016 to 2023–2024 school years and included schools in North Texas, specifically those in Regions X and XI. The research questions from Noltemeyer and McLaughlin (2010) were amended to include Hispanic students in addition to Black students, given the large proportion of Hispanic students in Texas schools. Additionally, rather than examining all Texas schools, public school districts in Regions X and XI were selected because they represented the North Texas geographic region, including all eight district types identified by the Texas Education Agency, and served the number of students that most closely matched the original sample size used in the study being replicated. A review of the literature showed that, while several studies examined exclusionary discipline rates for Black students (Anderson & McKenzie, 2024; Anderson & Ritter, 2017; v Huang, 2016; A. Johnson et al., 2024; Welsh, 2022), none examined these rates across multiple school years. The original statistical analyses used by Noltemeyer and McLaughlin (2010) were replicated in the current study, including repeated-measures MANCOVA, trend analysis, a one-way MANCOVA, a Pearson chi-square test to determine whether a significant relationship existed between exclusionary discipline placements and student groups, and slope analysis. Descriptive statistical analyses included means, percentage change, risk ratio, and projection analyses. In addition to examining Black and White trends in the data, Hispanic and White trends were also examined. The statistical procedures used in the original study were replicated, and the results indicated that disproportionality occurred in North Texas school districts at a substantially higher rate than in the original study. Although disproportionality was observed for both Black and Hispanic students, Black students were overrepresented in exclusionary disciplinary measures, despite the large percentage of Hispanic students enrolled in North Texas schools. Keywords: Exclusionary Discipline, disproportionality, Texas Public Schools.

Advisor

Danna Beaty

Subject Categories

Education

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