School suspension statistics show how often students are removed from instruction and how those rates differ across student groups. National figures were 1.32% for out-of-school suspension in 2020-21, compared with 5.3% in 2013-14. These figures come from different reporting periods, so they should be read as period-specific measurements rather than a single continuous trend.
Contents
- National out-of-school suspension rates in 2020-21
- Rates by sex and race in 2013-14
- In-school and repeated suspensions in 2020-21
- Who was overrepresented among suspended students
- Students with disabilities and extended removals
- State and jurisdiction variation
National out-of-school suspension rates in 2020-21
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 1.32% of students in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools received an out-of-school suspension during the 2020-21 school year. The same table reports meaningful differences by sex and race or ethnicity. Male students had a rate of 1.83%, while female students had a rate of 0.79%.
Among racial and ethnic groups, the reported 2020-21 rates were:
| Student group | Out-of-school suspension rate |
|---|---|
| Black students | 2.32% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native students | 1.84% |
| White students | 1.42% |
| Students of two or more races | 1.13% |
| Pacific Islander students | 0.85% |
| Hispanic students | 0.80% |
| Asian students | 0.18% |
These percentages describe the share of students receiving an out-of-school suspension during 2020-21. They do not describe the number of suspension incidents, the number of days missed, or the reasons for discipline. The source is the NCES table Percentage of students suspended and expelled from public elementary and secondary schools, by sex, race/ethnicity, and state or jurisdiction: School year 2020-21.
Rates by sex and race in 2013-14
The 2013-14 measurement presents a different national baseline. About 2.6 million public school students, or 5.3%, received one or more out-of-school suspensions. Because this period predates the 2020-21 figures, the two national percentages should not be treated as a simple before-and-after comparison without accounting for differences in school-year conditions and reporting context.
The 2013-14 out-of-school suspension rates reported by the National Center for Education Statistics were:
- Black students: 13.7%.
- American Indian or Alaska Native students: 6.7%.
- Students of two or more races: 5.3%.
- Hispanic students: 4.5%.
- Pacific Islander students: 4.5%.
- White students: 3.4%.
- Asian students: 1.1%.
The sex difference was also substantial: male students had a 7.3% rate, compared with 3.2% for female students. Within the Black student population, Black male students had a 17.6% rate, compared with 9.6% for Black female students. American Indian or Alaska Native male students had a 9.1% rate.
The source for these 2013-14 measures is NCES, Indicator 15: Retention, Suspension, and Expulsion. The source reports the school year as 2013-14; it does not establish that every difference between 2013-14 and 2020-21 represents a long-term change in school discipline.
In-school and repeated suspensions in 2020-21
Out-of-school suspension is only one disciplinary action. NCES also reported in-school suspension and separated students receiving exactly one out-of-school suspension from those receiving more than one during 2020-21.
Across public elementary and secondary schools, 1.73% of students received one or more in-school suspensions. Exactly one out-of-school suspension was reported for 1.40% of students, while 1.01% received more than one out-of-school suspension. These categories help distinguish a single removal from repeated out-of-school removal, although the figures are still percentages of students rather than counts of incidents or days.
Sex-specific rates show the same direction of difference across all three measures:
| Measure, 2020-21 | Male students | Female students |
|---|---|---|
| One or more in-school suspensions | 2.36% | 1.07% |
| Exactly one out-of-school suspension | 1.94% | 0.83% |
| More than one out-of-school suspension | 1.37% | 0.63% |
The source is NCES, Percentage of students receiving selected disciplinary actions in public elementary and secondary schools, by type of disciplinary action, disability status, sex, and race/ethnicity: School year 2020-21. The table’s categories should be kept separate: in-school suspension is not the same removal setting as out-of-school suspension, and “more than one” is not a count of how many additional suspensions a student received.
Who was overrepresented among suspended students
The U.S. Government Accountability Office examined discipline data from nearly all public schools for the 2013-14 school year. Its national analysis covered six disciplinary categories, including in-school and out-of-school suspensions. The findings compare students’ share of enrollment with their share of students receiving discipline.
Black students represented 15.5% of public school enrollment but about 39% of students suspended. The suspension representation exceeded the enrollment share by about 23 percentage points. GAO also reported that there were 17.4 million more White than Black students in K-12 public schools in 2013-14, yet 176,000 more Black students were suspended.
Students with disabilities were about 12% of public school enrollment but about 25% of students suspended. GAO’s reported out-of-school-suspension overrepresentation for students with disabilities was approximately 13.2 percentage points. Black students in high-poverty schools were overrepresented among suspended students by nearly 25 percentage points.
Boys made up just over half of public school students but about two-thirds of students disciplined across each of the six disciplinary actions examined. These comparisons describe representation in the discipline data; they do not, by themselves, identify the reasons for individual disciplinary decisions or establish causes.
The relevant sources are GAO, K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities, and the accompanying GAO-18-258 report.
Students with disabilities and extended removals
IDEA reporting uses a more specific frame than general school suspension statistics. In 2020-21, 7,991 children and students ages 3 through 21 served under IDEA Part B received an out-of-school suspension or expulsion for more than 10 cumulative days. That count represented 11 per 10,000 students served in the reporting jurisdictions. A total of 5,545 IDEA Part B students received in-school suspensions for more than 10 cumulative days, representing 8 per 10,000 students served in those jurisdictions.
The IDEA data also record removals to an interim alternative educational setting. School personnel unilaterally removed 2,630 IDEA Part B students ages 3 through 21 for drugs, weapons, or serious bodily injury. A hearing officer determination regarding likely injury led to 184 students being removed to such a setting.
Rates differed by disability category. For every 10,000 IDEA Part B students reported under emotional disturbance, 15 were unilaterally removed by school personnel for drugs, weapons, or serious bodily injury. In the same category, 55 received an out-of-school suspension or expulsion for more than 10 days, and 29 received an in-school suspension for more than 10 days. For IDEA Part B disability categories other than emotional disturbance, the corresponding ratios were 6 or fewer per 10,000 for unilateral removal and 22 or fewer per 10,000 for more-than-10-day out-of-school suspension or expulsion.
These measures concern IDEA Part B students and reporting jurisdictions, not all students enrolled in U.S. public schools. The source is the U.S. Department of Education, 2023 Annual Report to Congress on the IDEA.
State and jurisdiction variation
National averages can conceal wide variation. Across 51 individual states or jurisdictions with available data, the 2020-21 rate of emotional-disturbance students receiving a more-than-10-day out-of-school suspension or expulsion ranged from 0 to 780 per 10,000.
Selected reported rates illustrate that spread:
| State or jurisdiction | Rate per 10,000 emotional-disturbance students |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 780 |
| Nebraska | 257 |
| Missouri | 248 |
| Vermont | 4 |
| Bureau of Indian Education schools | 0 |
| Delaware | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 |
The zero figures mean that the reported rate for this specific measure and period was 0 per 10,000 in each listed jurisdiction; they should not be generalized to all discipline categories or all students. Likewise, Wyoming’s 780 per 10,000 rate applies to emotional-disturbance students receiving a more-than-10-day out-of-school suspension or expulsion, not to Wyoming’s entire student population.
The state and jurisdiction figures come from the U.S. Department of Education, 45th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2023. They are reported for 2020-21 and should be interpreted within the IDEA population, measure definition, and jurisdictions with available data.