Oregon's English Learner Students Suspended or Expelled at Higher Rates Than Non–English Learner Students

A Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest study, conducted in collaboration with the Oregon Leadership Network, examines suspension and expulsion rates in 2011/12 for English learner students in six of the state's most diverse districts, which serve a third of all English learner students in Oregon's public schools. This study describes discipline rates and reasons for discipline of English learner students, adding to knowledge about the interaction of discipline and achievement for English learner students.

The study's findings show that differences in suspension and expulsion rates between English learner students and non–English learner students were much larger in middle school and high school than in elementary school. In high school, English learner students were suspended for almost a full day more, on average, than non–English learner students. English learner students who were suspended or expelled were found to have lower average achievement on state assessments in reading and math than English learner students who were not suspended or expelled.