Comprehensive School Safety Initiative: Discipline in School Contexts

This 18-month, mixed-methods, exploratory study, conducted in partnership with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, will have three phases: 1) Qualitative inquiry across K-8 schools in Philadelphia; 2) Latent class analysis to identify “profiles” of school disciplinary approaches, coupled with event history analysis to examine student outcomes in context; 3) Case studies to examine contextual themes in depth. The study will provide actionable insights for the School District of Philadelphia, including information on the impact of district messages about climate and suspension, strategies schools are using to reduce out-of-school suspensions, factors that impact schools’ alignment with district priorities regarding discipline, and what resources matter most to schools’ approaches to discipline.