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Cited by 121Education Discipline and InequalityCriminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisCrime Patterns and Interventions

The School to Prison Pipeline: Long-Run Impacts of School Suspensions on Adult Crime

Open access
Bacher-Hicks, Andrew, Billings, Stephen, Deming, David·2019·National Bureau of Economic Research
DOI 10.3386/w26257
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Abstract

Schools face important policy tradeoffs in monitoring and managing student behavior.Strict discipline policies may stigmatize suspended students and expose them to the criminal justice system at a young age.On the other hand, strict discipline acts as a deterrent and limits harmful spillovers of misbehavior onto other students.This paper estimates the net impact of school discipline on student achievement, educational attainment and adult criminal activity.Using exogenous variation in school assignment caused by a large and sudden boundary change and a supplementary design based on principal switches, we show that schools with higher suspension rates have substantial negative long-run impacts.Students assigned to a school that has a one standard deviation higher suspension rate are 15 to 20 percent more likely to be arrested and incarcerated as adults.We also find negative impacts on educational attainment.The negative impacts of attending a high suspension school are largest for males and minorities.

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Cites

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  • Exposure to exclusionary discipline causes steep declines in academic performance for all students in schools using more exclusionary discipline, across all evaluated demographic subgroups.

    “they found that exposure to exclusionary discipline causes steep declines in academic performance and increases in arrest and adult incarceration rates for all students in these schools and in all evaluated subcategories of students (e.g., White, Black, male, female).”

    From Fostering Belonging, Transforming Schools: The Impact of Restorative Practices (2023) · cites this paper as Bacher-Hicks et al., 2019

    The Introduction reports no statistically significant overall impact on academic achievement, contrary to the claimed steep decline for all students. Section V.B, “Variation in Effects by Race and Gender,” reports a small short-run increase in test scores for white male students, contradicting the claim that every evaluated subgroup declined. Page numbers are not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.92)

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  • Strict schools exerted negative effects for students regardless of demographic subgroup.

    “strict schools-that is, those that relied heavily on exclusionary discipline-exerted negative effects for students regardless of demographic subgroup.”

    From Fostering Belonging, Transforming Schools: The Impact of Restorative Practices (2023) · cites this paper as Bacher-Hicks et al., 2019

    The Conclusion reports negative long-run effects of stricter schools overall, and section V.B reports increased adult arrests and incarcerations for white male students despite short-lived academic gains. But section V.B says negative effects are concentrated among minority males and identifies positive short-run academic effects for white males; it does not establish negative effects for every demographic subgroup. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Exposure to exclusionary discipline causes increases in arrest rates for all students in schools using more exclusionary discipline, across all evaluated demographic subgroups.

    “they found that exposure to exclusionary discipline causes steep declines in academic performance and increases in arrest and adult incarceration rates for all students in these schools and in all evaluated subcategories of students (e.g., White, Black, male, female).”

    From Fostering Belonging, Transforming Schools: The Impact of Restorative Practices (2023) · cites this paper as Bacher-Hicks et al., 2019

    The Introduction and Conclusion report that assignment to a higher-suspension school increases adult arrests overall. But Table 5 (reported in the indexed copy under VII. Conclusion) does not establish an increase in every evaluated subgroup: the arrest estimate for nonminority female students is not statistically significant. The paper also groups Black and Hispanic students together as minority students rather than reporting the claimed effect separately for each. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Exposure to strict schools exerted a uniquely pernicious impact for Black students.

    “Finally, they found that exposure to strict schools exerted a uniquely pernicious impact for Black students.”

    From Fostering Belonging, Transforming Schools: The Impact of Restorative Practices (2023) · cites this paper as Bacher-Hicks et al., 2019

    The Introduction and Section V.B report that strict schools have larger negative effects for minority students, especially minority males. But Section V.B defines that group as Black and Hispanic students together; it does not establish a uniquely harmful effect for Black students specifically. It also reports adverse adult-crime outcomes for non-minority students. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Exposure to exclusionary discipline causes increases in adult incarceration rates for all students in schools using more exclusionary discipline, across all evaluated demographic subgroups.

    “they found that exposure to exclusionary discipline causes steep declines in academic performance and increases in arrest and adult incarceration rates for all students in these schools and in all evaluated subcategories of students (e.g., White, Black, male, female).”

    From Fostering Belonging, Transforming Schools: The Impact of Restorative Practices (2023) · cites this paper as Bacher-Hicks et al., 2019

    The Abstract and Introduction report higher adult incarceration among students assigned to schools with higher suspension rates. Section V.B reports larger effects for minority students and males, and increases for white males, but the estimates for female subgroups do not establish an increase in incarceration. The claim that the effect holds across all evaluated subgroups overstates the findings. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Related

Authors
Bacher-Hicks, A., Billings, S., & Deming, D.
Affiliations
National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
ORCID
Venue
National Bureau of Economic Research
Publisher
National Bureau of Economic Research
Published
2019-09
DOI
10.3386/w26257
OpenAlex
W2973758227
Cited by
121
References
24
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1
Type
report
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education Discipline and Inequality
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
Keywords
school suspension, student discipline, school-to-prison pipeline, adult criminality, incarceration, arrests, educational attainment, academic performance, school assignment, border changes, racial disparities, gender disparities, long-term effects

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