CDF-Ohio Report: Black Students 4.5x More Likely to Face School Disparities

Black, non-Hispanic students in Ohio were 4.5 times more likely than White students to face disciplinary action during the 2024-2025 school year, according to research from the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio (CDF-Ohio).

The findings are part of a broader analysis detailing what has been described as the quiet undoing of school discipline reform within the state.

Trends in Exclusionary Discipline

A separate report released by CDF-Ohio on March 12, 2024, analyzed the use of exclusionary school disciplinary measures, including expulsions and out-of-school suspensions. That research identified an increase in these punishments across every grade level, from kindergarten through 12th grade, when comparing the 2021-2022 school year to the 2022-2023 school year.

Dr. John Stanford, the State Director for CDF-Ohio, stated that the discipline rates for students in Ohio are trending in the wrong direction, especially for our middle-school and high-school students and students of color.

The researchers noted that these exclusionary measures disproportionately impact students of color, as well as children with disabilities and those from lower-income households.

Economic Disparities and the Prison Pipeline

The March 12, 2024, report highlighted a significant correlation between economic status and school discipline. According to the findings, students who are economically disadvantaged accounted for 83% of all out-of-school suspensions issued in Ohio public schools during the 2022-2023 school year.

The practices have been identified as factors contributing to Ohio’s community-to-prison pipeline that puts far too many children and young people on a pathway to incarceration.

CDF-Ohio 2024 Report

The authors of the study argued that such disciplinary practices are closely linked to Ohio’s chronic absenteeism rates, which are defined as any student missing more than 10% of the school year for any reason.

The report stated that exclusionary punishments prevent students from accessing essential services and in-person learning, which further widens the gap for students who require those services the most.

Longitudinal Racial Gaps

Data from 2005 to 2019 indicates that the discipline gap between Black and White students has remained stark over the long term. During the 2018-2019 school year, Black boys in Ohio were 4.5 times more likely to face disciplinary actions leading to expulsion or out-of-school suspension compared to White boys.

The disparities were found to be even more pronounced when analyzed by gender. During that same 2018-2019 period, Black girls faced 7 times more out-of-school suspensions than White girls, marking the largest disparity overall in disproportionate punishment by race and gender.

The current 2024-2025 data showing Black, non-Hispanic students remaining 4.5 times more likely to be disciplined than White students suggests a persistence of these racial disparities in the Ohio education system.