Individual- and School-Level Predictors of Student Office Disciplinary Referrals

Research has widely documented the over-representation of office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) among specific student groups (e.g., African American, boys). Despite extant research documenting individual-level predictors of ODRs, few studies have accounted for the nested structure of the settings in which these events occur. Guided by critical race theory and social-ecological theory, this study uses multilevel modeling to examine individual-and school-level predictors of student ODRs. Archival data were examined among 1,442 students in a high-poverty urban school district. The majority of students were male (66.4%), African American (56.2%), and in middle school (63.2%). Results revealed that individual-level characteristics significantly predicted student disciplinary referrals even when accounting for school-level variables. Racial/ethnic-minority concentration was positively associated with ODRs for physically aggressive behavior. Finally, results revealed moderation effects, such that schools with lower student-teacher ratios had more ODRs for physically aggressive behavior among students in elementary school grades. Schools with higher student-teacher ratios had more ODRs for insubordination among middle school students. This study illustrates that disproportionality among African American students remains, even when compared with other ethnic-minority groups within a high-poverty urban context, and that school-level factors (e.g., racial/ethnic concentration, student-teacher ratio) are associated with office referral rates. Implications for research and practice are discussed.