Highlights
Record Level: student x incident x year
Record Count: 111,000 records/year
Years Covered: 2011-present
Population Coverage: public school students in Michigan
The State of Michigan provides discipline data in a single dataset that includes all reported disciplinary incidents in Michigan schools from 2011 to present. Suspensions are required to be reported in all years for students with IEPs, and expulsions are required to be reported in all years for all students.
There is a large increase in reporting starting in the 2017-2018 school year, when reporting suspensions for all students became mandatory for all Michigan schools. However, this policy ended after the 2017-2018 school year, so beginning in 2018-2019 schools were no longer required (but were still encouraged) to report suspensions for students without an IEP. In all years, schools were able to voluntarily report suspensions for students without an IEP. A suspension is an event resulting in a student’s removal from their usual education setting for one half of the school day or longer.
The raw data included identifiers such as student Id (RIC), school year, school and district code; incident date, and type of incident; type and length of disciplinary action; and any administrative follow up to address the incident (e.g. referred to mental health agency). These data are intended to be unique at the student x year x incident level, but additional de-duplication will be required to get the data to this level of uniqueness as an explicit incident identifier is not provided. Evidence suggests deduplication can be accomplished by grouping at the student x year x school x district x incident date level.
Incident reporting changes after the 2010-11 school year, with 34 incident types used in 2010-11, but only 12 aggregated types used in the subsequent years. Definitions of each can be seen in the tables below. The majority of incidents in each year are coded under the “Other” designation. In addition, each incident is assigned to 1 of 5 disciplinary actions (in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, removal by hearing officer, unilateral removal, and expulsion). Definitions of each can be seen in the tables below. While there are some guidelines and requirements around the severity of the disciplinary action, in many cases this is left to school/teacher discretion. Researchers should note that there are no disciplinary codes in the 2010-11 school year.
Out-of-school suspensions are the most common type of disciplinary action, encompassing approximately 75% of disciplinary actions across years. In-school suspensions account for an additional roughly 22-25% of disciplinary actions, and expulsions account for 1-2% of disciplinary actions. There are very few instances of unilateral removal or removal by a hearing officer.
Data Quality & Summary
There are a number of unique features of the discipline data that researchers should note. First, as mentioned above, there are no disciplinary codes for the 2010-11 school year, so those values will show up as missing for those years. There is no missingness for disciplinary codes in other years. There is no missingness on the incident codes across years (though most incidents are coded in the “Other” category). The length of the disciplinary action (ranging from 0.5 days to 888 days) is missing for 2010-11, but there is no missingness in other years.
Second, reporting of suspensions for students without IEPs was only mandatory for schools in the 2017-18 school year, but schools could report this voluntarily before and after, which led to a large increase in suspensions in 2017-18 and a decrease thereafter. There is also a large decrease in incidents reported in the 2020-2021 school year, which is likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual schooling.
Finally, the US Department of Education collects school-level aggregate data on discipline through the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). These data are collected every other year and are collected for students both with and without disabilities. School districts report these data directly to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), so there is no guaranteed relationship between the data reported to CEPI for inclusion in the K-12 discipline dataset and the data found in the CRDC. These data are the most correlated in 2017-18, when disciplinary incidences were required for all students (r=0.84 for out-of-school suspensions (OSS) and r=0.75 for in-school suspensions (ISS)). In general, however, correlations are high across years for students with IEPS (r~0.85 for OSS and r~0.75 for ISS), but low for students without IEPs in years where reporting for students without IEPs was not required (r~0.15).
Current reporting guidelines for incident types (post 2010-11):
Incident Type | Description |
---|---|
Firearm Possession - Handgun | Use or possession of a firearm that has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand. |
Firearm Possession - Rifle/Shotgun | Use of a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire through a smooth bore either a number of or a single projectile. |
Firearm Possession - Other than Handgun, Rifle or Shotgun | Use of a firearm other than a handgun or a rifle/shotgun, including any weapon converted to expel a projectile, any explosive, incendiary, poison gas, bomb, grenade, rocket/missile, mine or similar device. |
Other Weapon Possession | Use of a dagger, dirk, stiletto, knife with blade over three inches in length (NOTE: For students with an active IEP the blade measurement is two and one-half inches or longer), pocket knife opened by mechanical device, iron bar or brass knuckles. |
Illicit Drug | Possession or use of marijuana, hashish or other cannabinoids on school grounds. Possession or use of other illicit drugs on school grounds. Being under the influence of marijuana or illicit drugs on school grounds. Possession or use of prescription drugs that the student does not have a prescription for. Inappropriate use of medication on school grounds. Trafficking or possession for sale of marijuana or other illicit drugs on school grounds. |
Alcohol | Possession or use of alcohol on school grounds. Being under the influence of alcohol on school grounds. |
Bomb or Similar Threat | Any threat (verbal, written or electronic) by a person to bomb or use other substances or devices for the purpose of exploding, burning or causing damage to a school building or school property, or to harm students or staff. |
Arson | To unlawfully and intentionally damage, or attempt to damage, any real or personal property by fire or incendiary device. |
Other | Behaviors not covered by another code that result in disciplinary action. |
Physical Violence with injury | Injury in which one or more students, school personnel or other persons on school grounds require professional medical attention. Examples include stab or bullet wounds, concussions, fractured or broken bones, or cuts requiring stitches. |
Physical Violence without injury | Confrontation, tussle or physical aggression that does not result in injury. |
Tobacco | Tobacco possession or use on school grounds. |
Disciplinary Action Descriptions
Disciplinary Action | Description |
---|---|
In-School Suspension | Instances in which a student is temporarily removed from their regular classroom(s) for disciplinary purposes but remains under the direct supervision of school personnel. Direct supervision means a school staff member is physically in the same location as students under its supervision. |
Out-of-School Suspension | Instances in which a child is temporarily removed from their regular school for disciplinary purposes to another setting (e.g., home, behavior center). For students with disabilities receiving special education programs or services, this includes both removals in which no IEP services are provided because the removal is 10 days or less and removals in which the child continues to receive services according to their IEP. Suspensions must be less than 60 days in duration. |
Removal By Hearing Officer | (Special education participants only) Instances in which an impartial hearing officer orders the removal of a child with disabilities from their current educational placement to an appropriate alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days based on the hearing officer’s determination that maintaining the child’s current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or others. The IEP team is responsible for determining the interim alternative educational setting. |
Unilateral Removal | (Special education participants only) Instances in which school personnel (not the IEP team) order the removal of children with disabilities from their current educational placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days. The IEP team is responsible for determining the interim alternative educational setting. Unilateral removals do not include decisions by the IEP team to change a student’s placement. |
Expulsion | Instances in which the local educational agency removes a child from their regular school for disciplinary purposes for the remainder of the school year or longer in accordance with local educational agency policy. Include removals resulting from violations of the Gun-Free Schools Act that are modified to less than one year (365 days). Expulsions may be reported when the duration of days removed are 60 or more |
Codebook
Category Sort descending | Variable | Description |
---|---|---|
Category: Special Education | Variable: ELIGIBILITY_REASON_NAME_2 |
Description: The name/descriptor of the area of developmental delay or the established condition identified on the child's IFSP by which the child’s eligibility was determined. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: PART_C_EXIT_REASON_CODE |
Description: The reason (Code)given for a child discontinuing services through Part C. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: EO_SERVICE_CODE_5 |
Description: The code for the Individual Education Plan (IEP)-designated program(s), or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) program(s), in which the student is participating. This is not to be confused with the student's type of disability. The student's program assignment is not required to match his/her impairment. (E.g., a student does not have to be diagnosed as early childhood developmentally delayed to participate in an early childhood special education program.) |
Category: Special Education | Variable: CURRENT_IFSP_DATE |
Description: The date of the child's most recent Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). --This data element is consistent with the field Plan Date in MICIS. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: IFSP_TIMELINESS_NAME |
Description: The name that indicates if the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) was completed within the required timeline. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: ELIGIBILITY_REASON_NAME_6 |
Description: The name/descriptor of the area of developmental delay or the established condition identified on the child's IFSP by which the child’s eligibility was determined. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: REFERRAL_AGENCY |
Description: The name of the type of agency that notified the responsible agency the child may potentially be eligible for Part C services. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: ELIGIBILITY_REASON_CODE_2 |
Description: The code used to identify the area of developmental delay or the established condition identified on the child's IFSP by which the child’s eligibility was determined. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: ELIGIBILITY_REASON_NAME_5 |
Description: The name/descriptor of the area of developmental delay or the established condition identified on the child's IFSP by which the child’s eligibility was determined. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: EO_SERVICE_NAME_2 |
Description: The name of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)-designated program(s), or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) program(s), in which the student is participating. This is not to be confused with the student's type of disability. The student's program assignment is not required to match his/her impairment. (E.g., a student does not have to be diagnosed as early childhood developmentally delayed to participate in an early childhood special education program.) |
Category: Special Education | Variable: TRANSITION_CONF_TIMELINESS_NAME |
Description: Part C Indicator 8 C: Indicate if the transition IFSP conference was held within the required timeframe (at least 90 days but not more than nine months prior to the toddler's third birthday). |
Category: Special Education | Variable: PRIM_SERVICE_SETTING_CODE |
Description: The code for the environment in which the majority of the services are being provided to the child. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: PART_C_EXIT_DATE |
Description: The date on which the child ceased receiving Part C services. --This data element is consistent with the field Status Date in MICIS. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: EO_SERVICE_NAME_1 |
Description: The name of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)-designated program(s), or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) program(s), in which the student is participating. This is not to be confused with the student's type of disability. The student's program assignment is not required to match his/her impairment. (E.g., a student does not have to be diagnosed as early childhood developmentally delayed to participate in an early childhood special education program.) |
Category: Special Education | Variable: EO_AS_OF_DATE |
Description: The date a new record was entered for a student. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: ELIGIBILITY_REASON_CODE_1 |
Description: The code used to identify the area of developmental delay or the established condition identified on the child's IFSP by which the child’s eligibility was determined. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: IFSP_TIMELINESS_CODE |
Description: The code that indicates if the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) was completed within the required timeline. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: REFERRAL_DATE |
Description: The date the lead agency or Education Information System (EIS) provider receives the referral of the child. |
Category: Special Education | Variable: TRANSITION_IFSP_TIMELINESS_NAME |
Description: Part C Indicator 8 A: Indicate if the transition plan in the IFSP was completed within the required timeframe (at least 90 days but not more than nine months prior to the toddler's third birthday). |
Category: Special Education | Variable: ELIGIBILITY_REASON_CODE_9 |
Description: The code used to identify the area of developmental delay or the established condition identified on the child's IFSP by which the child’s eligibility was determined. |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: WRI_IS_PROFICIENT |
Description: Flag denoting whether the student was proficient on the writing portion of the assessment. |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: STATE_FAY |
Description: Is the student considered a full academic year (FAY) participant for the state during this year (Y= Yes; N=No; U=Unknown). |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: SCHOOL_FAY |
Description: Is the student considered a full academic year (FAY) participant for the school during this year (Y= Yes; N=No; U=Unknown). |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: ELA_IS_PROFICIENT |
Description: Flag denoting whether the student was proficient on the English language arts portion of the assessment. (Y= Yes; N=No) |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: MTH_IS_PROFICIENT |
Description: Flag denoting whether the student was proficient on the mathematics portion of the assessment. (Y= Yes; N=No) |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: DISTRICT_FAY |
Description: Is the student considered a full academic year (FAY) participant for the district during this year (Y= Yes; N=No; U=Unknown). |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: SOC_IS_PROFICIENT |
Description: Flag denoting whether the student was proficient on the social studies portion of the assessment. |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: SCI_IS_PROFICIENT |
Description: Flag denoting whether the student was proficient on the science portion of the assessment. |
Category: Standard Assessment | Variable: RDG_IS_PROFICIENT |
Description: Flag denoting whether the student was proficient on the reading portion of the assessment. (Y= Yes; N=No) |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: MASKING |
Description: MASKING |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: AUDIO_PART_B |
Description: AUDIO PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_TEST_ENGLISH |
Description: LEP TEST ENGLISH |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: VISUAL_AIDS |
Description: VISUAL AIDS |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_OTHER_ACCOM_PART_A |
Description: LEP OTHER ACCOM PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: VIDEO_ARABIC |
Description: VIDEO ARABIC |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_DIR_AUDIO |
Description: LEP DIR AUDIO |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: STD_RSPND_BRAILLE |
Description: STUDENT RESPONDS USING BRAILLE WRITER OR BRAILLE NOTETAKER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: TEST_CONTENT_PROVIDED |
Description: TEST CONTENT PROVIDED IN ASL OR SEE (HUMAN SIGNER) |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: CD_PART_A |
Description: CD PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: MODIFIED_RESPONSE_FORMAT |
Description: MODIFIED RESPONSE FORMAT |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: NON_SPANISH_TRANSLATION |
Description: NON-SPANISH TRANSLATION |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: REPEAT_ITEM_AUDIO |
Description: REPEAT ITEM AUDIO |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: COMPUTER_ASSISTED |
Description: COMPUTER ASSISTED |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: NOISE_BUFFERS |
Description: NOISE BUFFERS |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: SPANISH_TRANSLATION |
Description: SPANISH TRANSLATION (STACKED) |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: MULTIDAY |
Description: MULTIDAY |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: BRAILLE_PART_B |
Description: BRAILLE PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_TEST_READER_ENG_PART_A |
Description: LEP TEST READER ENGLISH PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: REPEAT_LSTNG_TEST_RSPNSE_OTN |
Description: REPEAT LISTENING TEST RESPONSE OPTIONS BY HUMAN READER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_TEST_READER_ENG_PART_B |
Description: LEP TEST READER ENGLISH PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: ALTERNATE_RESPONSE |
Description: ALTERNATE RESPONSE |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_OTHER_ACCOM_PART_B |
Description: LEP OTHER ACCOM PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_TEST_DIRECTIONS_ENGLISH |
Description: LEP TEST DIRECTIONS ENGLISH |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: INTERPRETER_SIGN_TST_DIR |
Description: INTERPRETER SIGNS TEST DIRECTIONS IN ASL |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: EXTEND_SPKG_TST_RSPNSE_TIME |
Description: EXTENDED SPEAKING TEST RESPONSE TIME |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: CLOSED_CAPTIONING |
Description: CLOSED CAPTIONING |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: TEST_READ |
Description: TEST READ |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: BRAILLE_TEST_OR_WRITER |
Description: BRAILLE TEST OR WRITER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: REPEAT_TEST_ITEM |
Description: REPEAT TEST ITEMS BY HUMAN READER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: READ_ALOUD_LSTNG_RSPNSE_OPN |
Description: READ ALOUD LISTENING TEST RESPONSE OPTIONS BY HUMAN READER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_OTHER_ACCOM |
Description: LEP OTHER ACCOM |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: AUDIO_PART_A |
Description: AUDIO PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: OTHER_ACCOM_PART_B |
Description: OTHER ACCOM PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_TEST_READER_ENGLISH |
Description: LEP TEST READER ENGLISH |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LEP_TEST_DIRECTIONS_NATIVE |
Description: LEP TEST DIRECTIONS NATIVE |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: BRAILLE_PART_A |
Description: BRAILLE PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: REVERSE_CONTRAST |
Description: REVERSE CONTRAST |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: OTHER_APPROVED_ACCOMMODATION |
Description: OTHER APPROVED ACCOMMODATION |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: MODIFIED_PRESENTATION_FORMAT |
Description: MODIFIED PRESENTATION FORMAT |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: STANDARD |
Description: STANDARD |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: BRAILLE |
Description: BRAILLE |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LARGE_PRINT_PART_B |
Description: LARGE PRINT PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: COLOR_CHOOSER |
Description: COLOR CHOOSER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: L1_GLOSSARY |
Description: L1 GLOSSARY |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: VIDEO_ENGLISH |
Description: VIDEO ENGLISH |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: TEST_READ_PART_A |
Description: TEST READ PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LARGE_PRINT |
Description: LARGE PRINT |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: AMPLIFICATION_SYSTEM |
Description: AMPLIFICATION SYSTEM |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LARGE_PRINT_BOOKLET |
Description: LARGE PRINT BOOKLET |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: MODIFIED_TEST_DIRECTIONS |
Description: MODIFIED TEST DIRECTIONS |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: SCRIBE_ELA_WRITING |
Description: SCRIBE - ELA WRITING ITEMS |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: VIDEO |
Description: VIDEO |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: OTHER_ACCOM_PART_A |
Description: OTHER ACCOM PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: STD_ASST_TECH_RSPND_TST_ITEM |
Description: STUDENT USES ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TO RESPOND TO TEST ITEMS |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: STD_RSPND_ORALLY |
Description: STUDENT RESPONDS ORALLY USING EXTERNAL AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATE COMMUNICATION DEVICE OR SOFTWARE |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: CALCULATOR |
Description: CALCULATOR |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: SCRIBE |
Description: SCRIBE |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: ENGLISH_GLOSSARY |
Description: ENGLISH GLOSSARY |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: WORD_PROCESSOR |
Description: WORD PROCESSOR |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: STD_RSPND_RECORD_DEVICE |
Description: STUDENT RESPONDS USING A RECORDING DEVICE, WHICH IS PLAYED BACK AND TRANSCRIBED BY THE STUDENT |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: ENGLISH_DICTIONARY |
Description: ENGLISH DICTIONARY |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: READ_ALOUD_ELA_PASSGES |
Description: READ ALOUD - English Language Arts (ELA) PASSAGES |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: TEST_READ_PART_B |
Description: TEST READ PART B |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: EXTEND_TESTING_TIME |
Description: EXTENDED TESTING TIME WITHIN THE SCHOOL DAY |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: AUDIO |
Description: AUDIO |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: AUDIO_AMP_DEVICE |
Description: AUDIO AMP DEVICE OR NOISE BUFFER |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: WORD_PRCESSOR_RSPND_TST_ITEM |
Description: WORD PROCESSOR OR SIMILAR KEYBOARDING DEVICE TO RESPOND TO TEST ITEMS |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: EXTEND_TESTING_SESSION |
Description: EXTENDED TESTING SESSION OVER MULTIPLE DAYS FOR A SINGLE DOMAIN |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: LARGE_PRINT_PART_A |
Description: LARGE PRINT PART A |
Category: Testing Accommodations | Variable: MAGNIFCATN_OR_LOW_VISION_AID |
Description: MAGNIFICATION OR LOW VISION AIDS |