The data used for the study was collected during the 2013-2014 school year and included 16,758 school districts (99.2 percent of all public school districts), 95,507 schools (99.5 percent of all public schools) and 50,035,744 total public school students. Privately-run schools and daycares are not required to report suspension numbers.
The group broke down the numbers by males and females as well. It found black males represent 19 percent of male preschool enrollment but make up 45 percent of male suspensions. Black females represent 20 percent of female preschool enrollment but make up 54 percent of female suspensions.
The study also found similar racial disparities in suspensions for students in grades K-12. Of the 2.8 million K-12 students surveyed, 1.1 million were black and 610,000 were Latino.
“Expulsion in early childhood education is not an intervention. Over a decade of research and data tell us that the policies and practices of suspension and expulsion in early childhood, which disproportionately affect children of color, are causing harm to children and families,” the National Association for the Education of Young Children wrote in a statement regarding CRDC’s findings.
More recent data from the National Survey of Children’s Health shows 50,000 preschoolers were suspended at least once in 2016. Another 17,000 preschoolers are estimated to have been expelled, equaling out to approximately 250 preschool suspensions or expulsions each day in 2016.
In the study, teachers watched a video of preschoolers and were later asked to point out potentially troublesome behaviors. Overall, black boys were watched more closely and were sometimes flagged for challenging behaviors.
However, the video actually did not feature any challenging behavior, indicating many of the underlying causes of preschool discipline are rooted in adult bias instead of child behavior.
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