Within educational institutions, racial disparities in the classroom are becoming increasingly evident. Growing research suggests that implicit biases of teachers and administrators (school adults) affect their ability to administer discipline equitably among students. The unequally harsh disciplinary sanctions against minority students interferes with the overall development of academic success.

The data used for this presentation is secondary data. Data was originally gathered by researchers from the Public Policy Center at the University of Iowa through their Equity Implemented Research Partnership with the Director of Equity and Staffing at the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). A school climate survey was distributed to ICCSD students in grades 5 to12 in February and March 2017. The main purpose of the school climate survey was to allow students to express their personal experiences and perceptions of the school they attend. While the survey covered several domains of student experiences, this presentation focuses on the safety and disciplinary environment survey-item responses.

Findings from these students’ responses show great disciplinary disparities against Black male and female students in the district as well as a high sense of perceiving their respective schools as unsafe.  Minority females also express high rates of feeling unsafe in the classroom compared to White female students and male students overall.

These findings suggest that the ICCSD needs to implement solutions and interventions that reconstruct the way minority students are treated and emotionally handled in disciplinary matters. Research suggests that addressing the role of implicit bias and punitive disciplinary practices is needed to improve student experiences in school regarding disciplinary equity and safety.