New Report Finds Black Girls Receive Harsher Discipline Than Their School Peers for Similar Behaviors

Discipline Gap Largely Driven by Differences in Discipline Within Same Schools

GAO Report (PDF) | Press Conference (YouTube) | Photos (Dropbox)

WASHINGTON – Today at a press conference on Capitol Hill, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Speaker-Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro released a groundbreaking report they requested from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that across the United States, Black girls face disproportionately severe discipline compared to other girls and receive harsher punishments than their white peers for similar behaviors. These disparities are further exacerbated for Black girls with disabilities and Black girls that are part of the LGBTQ community.  

The GAO’s review—which is the first study to directly examine the underlying infraction data among discipline disparities and identify factors that contribute to them—also found that the discipline gap is largely driven by differences in discipline within the same schools, and that biases such as adultification and colorism contribute to the harsher discipline of Black girls.

In December 2022, Congresswoman Pressley and Speaker-Emerita Pelosi wrote to the GAO requesting that it examines the disparate impact of school disciplinary policies and practices on Black and brown girls in K-12 public schools, they were later joined in the request by Ranking Member DeLauro. The GAO’s findings underscore the importance of Congresswoman Pressley’s Ending PUSHOUT Act, which would address this issue through systemic policy changes and robust data collection.

The lawmakers unveiled the report at a press conference on Capitol Hill earlier today. Video from the press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“This damning new report affirms what we’ve known all along – that Black girls continue to face a crisis of criminalization in our schools – and the report provides powerful new data to push back on the harmful narrative that Black girls are disciplined more because they misbehave more,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “The only way we can address this crisis is through intentional, trauma-informed policy. I hope this report will motivate Congress to advance legislation including my Ending PUSHOUT Act to address the discriminatory pushout of Black girls in schools and create safe, nurturing school environments where every student can thrive. I’m grateful to the GAO for conducting this important study and to Speaker-Emerita Pelosi and Ranking Member DeLauro for their partnership.”

“This groundbreaking GAO report – that I was honored to join Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro in requesting – highlights the unacceptable discrimination that Black and brown girls face in K-12 schools every day,” Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said. “The wildly disproportionate number of Black and brown girls who face harsher, more frequent discipline is truly a challenge to the conscience of our nation.  Thank you, Congresswoman Pressley, for shining a vital spotlight on a tragic injustice in our schools that has been overlooked for far too long.”

“Students are only able to learn if they feel safe and are allowed to participate in school. This report confirms and provides further evidence for what we have long known to be true: Black girls receive more frequent and more severe discipline in school than other girls. This disparity causes many Black girls to lose instructional time and suffer consequences after their time in school,” said Ranking Member DeLauro. “I thank Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Speaker-Emerita Pelosi for their leadership on this issue and their partnership in requesting this important GAO report. It will inform our work on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee to protect civil rights and improve the wellbeing of our nation’s children. I hope that, because of these important findings, schools across the country and policymakers at every level of government examine the use of exclusionary discipline policies that are disproportionately harming Black girls.”

Some of the GAO report’s key findings include:

• Black Girls Face More and Harsher Forms of Discipline Compared to Other Girls.
  • While Black girls represented 15% of all girls in public schools, they received nearly half of all suspensions and expulsions during the 2017-2018 school year, including 45% of out-of-school suspensions, 37% of in-school suspensions, and 43% of expulsions.
  • Nationally, the largest difference in exclusionary discipline rates was between Black girls and white girls, with Black girls receiving exclusionary discipline at rates 3 to 5.2 times those of white girls.
    • Every state disciplined Black girls more than white girls, with out-of-school suspension rates for Black girls ranging from 1.3 times the rate of white girls in Hawaii to 20.5 times in the District of Columbia.
    • In Massachusetts, Black girls were suspended at 4.2 times the rate of white girls.

• For Similar Infractions or Behaviors, Black Girls Are Removed from Class More Often than Other Girls (New Finding)
  • For disciplinary referrals involving “major” infractions (behaviors that involve sending a student to an administrator), 42% of Black girls received exclusionary discipline compared to 32% of white girls.
  • For disciplinary referrals involving “minor” infractions (behaviors managed by staff), 16% of Black girls received exclusionary discipline compared to 9% of white girls.
  • For subjective infractions, like defiance, disrespect, and disruption, 18% of Black girls received disciplinary referrals compared to 9% of white girls.
  • For objective infractions, like property damage or vandalism, 16% of Black girls received disciplinary referrals compared to 7% of white girls.
  • Following each referral type, Black girls were more likely to face exclusionary discipline than white girls.

• Most of the Discipline Gap is Driven by Differences in Discipline Within the Same Schools (New Finding)
  • School-level factors like poverty levels, percent of girls with disabilities, percent of new teachers, and presence of any School Resource Officer were associated with increased discipline for girls. However, GAO found that the discipline gap between Black and white girls is primarily due to differences in how they are disciplined within the same schools, rather than the types of schools they attend.

• Multiple Forms of Bias Contribute to Discipline Disparities
  • Colorism – Black girls with darker skin are twice as likely to be suspended as white girls, a trend less prevalent for Black girls with lighter skin.
  • Adultification – Black girls are perceived as older and more mature than their peers, leading to support for stricter punishments.
  • Gender biases and stereotypes – Black girls face biases that punish them for not conforming to traditional feminine expectations, like being quiet and obedient.
  • Intersectionality – LGBTQIA+ girls and girls with disabilities face additional biases that make them more likely to be disciplined for issues like dress code violations and displays of affection.

• Nationally, Black Girls Had the Lowest Perceptions of Safety and Connectedness at School
  • Over half a million girls reported feeling unsafe in school in 2022 and 7% of girls avoided areas in schools due to fear of being attacked, with Black girls reporting this more frequently than their peers
  • Black girls are more likely to view school rules and discipline as unfair compared to white girls, particularly regarding dress code policies.
  • More Black girls disagreed that teachers treated students with respect compared to white girls, and over 300,000 girls overall believed there was no teacher or adult at school genuinely cared about them.

To read the GAO’s full report, click here.

Joining Rep. Pressley, Speaker Pelosi, and Ranking Member DeLauro at the press conference today were Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02), Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Dr. Monique Couvson, Ed.D., author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center; and Rebecca Amadi, Federal Policy Manager at GLSEN.

“What the GAO is laying out in clear terms and with clear statistics in this report is what advocates like Congresswoman Pressley and I have been saying for years: discrimination in our schools is happening, the school-to-prison pipeline is real, and it has specifically harmed and targeted our Black girls,” said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Co-Chair of the Caucus on Black Women and Girls. “I’ll be damned if I stand by and let my granddaughter have to go through this. That’s why I’m proud to support Rep. Pressley’s bill, the Ending PUSHOUT Act, which will help create a learning environment where every child has the opportunity to thrive.”

“The pushout of Black girls from our schools is not just an educational crisis – it’s a moral failure that threatens the very promise of equality in America,” said Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. “The GAO report confirms what our communities have long known: systemic racism is robbing Black and Brown girls of their right to learn. With the Ending PUSHOUT Act, we’re not just changing policies; we’re fighting for a future where every girl, regardless of her skin color, can walk into a classroom feeling safe, valued, and empowered to reach her full potential. Together with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s leadership, we’re committed to creating a nurturing school environment for all our children.” 

“Congresswoman Pressley’s and Speaker-Emerita Pelosi’s work to unveil this groundbreaking report confirms Black girls’ experiences in schools nationwide. Black girls are unfairly disciplined in schools, resulting in an unsafe environment where they feel no adult genuinely cares about them,” said Congresswoman Robin Kelly. “As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, I will continue to advocate for equal treatment of young Black girls. They deserve every opportunity to succeed and thrive.”

“Today’s GAO report confirms what experts like Dr. Monique Couvson, author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in School, have been telling us for years — Black girls face harsher, more frequent discipline than their white counterparts in schools,” said Ranking Member Scott, House Committee on Education and the Workforce. “This systemic discrimination prevents Black girls from receiving the same quality education as their peers, impacting their opportunities for future success. Congress must take action to ensure that all students, regardless of race or gender, can feel safe at school.”

“The report’s findings come at no shock and its deeply disturbing that our little Black girls are being targeted and facing disproportionately harsher treatment that their white counterparts,” said Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. “We cannot continue to allow the mistreatment and dehumanization of our Black girls within the school systems. I’m increasingly fearful of those who are disabled or unable to speak up and often ignored. Congress must pass legislation to end racial discrimination within schools, which should be safe spaces, and I’m committed to work with my colleagues to ensure our girls are protected.”

“This new GAO report confirms what we have known: that Black girls are overrepresented across the spectrum of discipline, at every educational level,” said Dr. Monique Couvson, author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. “As a former educator and principal investigator of evaluations for school-based programs, I know that the safest schools for Black, Latina/e, and Indigenous girls and gender-expansive youth are those that operate with the belief that no child is disposable, and that demonstrate this by building an infrastructure —which includes counselors and restorative approaches— to respond to children appropriately when they experience dysregulation. The Ending PUSHOUT Act is an important effort to grow our schools’ capacity to be locations for healing, so they can fully realize their potential as locations for learning.”

“Unfair school discipline practices harm LGBTQ+ youth, especially LGBTQ+ students of color. When schools treat students differently based on their identity, appearance, or expression, it disrupts the learning environment for everyone and goes against what education is truly about – supporting every student’s ability to learn and thrive,” said Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, Executive Director of GLSEN. “The findings in the GAO report highlight the need for immediate, long-term action, including significantly increasing funding for federal civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Department of Education. We proudly support the Ending PUSHOUT Act and other solutions that invest in safer, more inclusive schools and strengthen educational outcomes for students. We are grateful for the leadership of Representative Pressley, Representative Watson Coleman, Representative Omar, and so many others spotlighting the urgent need to address these systemic disparities.”

“All students deserve to learn in spaces that are safe, supportive and affirming. It is up to all of us to take on the unfair disciplinary practices and discrimination that Black girls face too often in schools,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center. “We applaud Rep. Pressley’s work to ensure that students can thrive, and we urge Congress to pass the Ending PUSHOUT Act, and finally address the unjust punishment and criminalization Black girls experience in school.”

Thank you to Rep. Pressley, Speaker Emerita Pelosi, and Rep. DeLauro, for submitting the request to the U.S. Government Accountability Office that brought us this hard data to affirm without doubt what we have already known for some time. Black and Brown girls in K-12 – who are subjected to colorism, adultification, and stereotyping – endure harsher and more serious discipline compared to their white counterparts for the same infractions. This new GAO report gives us the fuel we need to take lasting action and create long-term change for girls of color. This historic data is critical to YWCA’s mission: to eliminate racism and empower women and girls. We look forward to digging in further, along with these leaders and many others – in coalition – to pass the Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2023, moving us that much closer to achieving equity and justice,” said Margaret Mitchell, President and CEO of YWCA USA.

In April 2023, Congresswoman Pressley, along with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), re-introduced the Ending PUSHOUT Act, their legislation to end the punitive pushout of girls of color from schools. The Ending PUSHOUT Act calls out the harmful ways in which students are criminalized and overpoliced at school and invests in safe and nurturing school environments for all students, especially girls of color. More information about the legislation is available here.

The Ending PUSHOUT Act, originally introduced in Congress in December 2019 and reintroduced in October 2021, is informed by Rep. Pressley’s People’s Justice Guarantee and is a continuation of her longstanding history of working to address issues of disparate school discipline and education inequities during her tenure on the Boston City Council.

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