Teacher Racial Composition and Exclusion Rates Among Black or African American Students

Expulsion and suspension rates among African American students are the highest of all racial groups across elementary, middle, and high schools. This study investigates whether a more racially diverse teaching force could alleviate exclusion rates among Black students. Using administrative data from the universe of K-12 public schools in the state of Wisconsin from 2002-2003 to 2012-2013 and employing a school fixed effects approach, results suggest that increasing the representation of Black teachers by even a single percentage point is associated with lower suspension rates among Black students at the high school level. Across levels of schooling, exclusion rates of White students are unrelated to teacher racial composition.