👥 About Dataset

Dataset from data.gov. 'This set of Excel file contains data on student referrals to law enforcement by disability and student-related arrests by disability for all states. It also contains data on incidents of offenses by type of offense for all states.' (OCR)

❔ Research Questions

Part 1

1. Which types of offenses are most common nationally?
2. Which states have the highest overall referral and arrest rates?
3. What proportion of referrals result in an arrest by state?

Part 2

1. Which states show the largest disparity in referral and arrest representation between students with and without disabilities?

This analysis of school-related referrals and arrests reveals several consistent patterns across states, particularly in the types of offenses reported and the representation of students with disabilities in disciplinary actions.

• First, non-weapon-related offenses, such as physical attacks without a weapon and threats of physical attack, were the most commonly reported incidents nationwide. This suggests that the majority of school disciplinary issues involve lower-severity offenses rather than those involving weapons.

• Second, when adjusting for state size by calculating referrals and arrests per 100 schools, certain states such as Virginia, Florida, and Hawaii emerged as having higher levels of disciplinary activity. This highlights the importance of using normalized measures rather than raw counts when comparing across states.

• Most notably, students with disabilities make up a substantial share of both referrals and arrests across many states. In some cases, their representation increases from referrals to arrests. For example, Vermont showed a significant disparity, where students with disabilities accounted for approximately 48.21% of referrals but 80.00% of arrests. This pattern suggests that in certain states, students with disabilities may experience a higher level of escalation within the disciplinary process.

• In contrast, other regions such as Puerto Rico showed high representation in referrals but not in arrests, indicating more consistent outcomes across stages of disciplinary action. Additionally, states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine consistently showed elevated representation of students with disabilities in both referrals and arrests, though with smaller differences between the two.

Overall, these findings suggest that while disciplinary actions are common across all states, there are notable differences in how students with disabilities are represented and how outcomes progress from referral to arrest. These patterns highlight potential areas for further investigation into equity and disciplinary practices across school systems.

Another potential area for further analysis is examining how race and ethnicity intersect with disability status in school disciplinary actions.

For example:

Among students with disabilities, which racial and ethnic groups account for the largest share of referrals?

Because the dataset includes breakdowns by race and ethnicity, this analysis could provide deeper insight into how disciplinary actions vary across different demographic groups. Exploring these patterns may help identify whether certain groups of students with disabilities are more frequently represented in referrals, which could point to broader disparities within the education system.