Zero tolerance discipline policies in Texas schools: differential discipline outcomes in rural versus urban schools

This thesis will examine the results of a quantitative analysis of aggregate level discipline data in both rural and urban Texas schools. The purpose is to examine zero tolerance discipline policies and determine if variations in discipline types are influenced by race or ethnicity. It will also examine possible variations between rural and urban discipline types. The data used for this analysis was collected using the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) and the Discipline Data Report (DDR) which were both taken from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) web site. Inferences were able to be drawn that indicate race is more of a factor in discipline than socioeconomic status. It was also found that special education status is more of a predictor than socioeconomic status in determining disciplinary placements.