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 TypeDescription
Firearm Possession - HandgunUse 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/ShotgunUse 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 ShotgunUse 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 PossessionUse 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 DrugPossession 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.
AlcoholPossession or use of alcohol on school grounds. Being under the influence of alcohol on school grounds.
Bomb or Similar ThreatAny 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.
ArsonTo unlawfully and intentionally damage, or attempt to damage, any real or personal property by fire or incendiary device.
OtherBehaviors not covered by another code that result in disciplinary action.
Physical Violence with injuryInjury 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 injuryConfrontation, tussle or physical aggression that does not result in injury.
TobaccoTobacco possession or use on school grounds.

Disciplinary Action Descriptions

Disciplinary ActionDescription
In-School SuspensionInstances 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 SuspensionInstances 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.
ExpulsionInstances 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

Showing 401 - 500 of 1138 results
Category Sort descending Variable Description
Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: NEW_SOCIAL_RELATIONSHIP Description: 

When reporting an annual or exit assessment, providers must indicate if the child has shown any new skill or behaviors related to positive social relationships. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: PARENT_INPUT_NAME Description: 

The name of the parent input about the child outcomes rating.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: NEW_ACTION Description: 

When reporting an annual or exit assessment, providers must indicate if the child has shown any new skill or behaviors related to taking action to meet his/her needs. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: IS_OUTCOME_3B Description: 

Flag that indicates the child's acquisition of new skills or behaviors related to taking appropriate action to meet needs since his/her last assessment.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: SOCIAL_RELATIONSHIPS_NAME Description: 

The name of the child's assessment rating for positive social relationships. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: OTHER_TOOL_COMMENTS Description: 

The description of the type of assessment tool used, when it is not one of those in the list of values provided in the Assessment Tool characteristic.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: IS_OUTCOME_2B Description: 

Flag that indicates the child's acquisition of new skills or behaviors related to acquiring and using knowledge and skills since his/her last assessment.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: ASSESSMENT_DATE Description: 

The date on which the assessment occurred.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: PARENT_INPUT_DATE Description: 

The date on which the parent/guardian input regarding the child outcomes rating was collected.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: EXIT_ASSESSMENT_DATE Description: 

The date (month, day and year) of the first day when the child was assessed upon his/her exit from early childhood special education.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: KNOWLEDGE_SKILLS_CODE Description: 

The code for the child's assessment rating for acquisition and use of knowledge and skills. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: ASSESSMENT_TYPE_CODE Description: 

The code for the Part C child outcomes assessment which is required to be completed when the child enters Part C Services, annually while the child is receiving services, and upon exit from Part C.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: OUTCOME_3A_CODE Description: 

The code for Taking Appropriate Action to Meet Needs: To what extent the child shows age appropriate functioning, across a variety of settings and situations.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: ACTION_CODE Description: 

The code for the child's assessment rating on the ability to take appropriate actions to meet his/her needs. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: OTHER_SOURCE_COMMENTS Description: 

The description of the type of assessment tool used when it is not one of those in the list of values provided in the Data Source characteristic.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: IS_OUTCOME_1B Description: 

Flag that indicates of the child's acquisition of new skills or behaviors related to positive social and emotional skills (including positive social relationships) since his/her last assessment.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: PARENT_INPUT_CODE Description: 

The code that indicates the parent input about the child outcomes rating.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: OUTCOME_2A_CODE Description: 

The code for Acquiring and Using Knowledge and Skills: To what extent the child shows age appropriate functioning, across a variety of settings and situations.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: NEW_KNOWLEDGE_SKILL Description: 

When reporting an annual or exit assessment, providers must indicate if the child has shown any new skill or behavior related to acquisition and use of knowledge and skills. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: SOCIAL_RELATIONSHIPS_CODE Description: 

The code for the child's assessment rating for positive social relationships. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: ACTION_NAME Description: 

The name of the child's assessment rating on the ability to take appropriate actions to meet his/her needs. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: ASSESSMENT_TYPE_NAME Description: 

The name of the Part C child outcomes assessment which is required to be completed when the child enters Part C Services, annually while the child is receiving services, and upon exit from Part C.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: KNOWLEDGE_SKILLS_NAME Description: 

The name of the child's assessment rating for acquisition and use of knowledge and skills. Similar to the Michigan Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF cheat sheet).

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: DATA_SOURCE_NAME Description: 

The name for the comprehensive assessment tool used when completing the child's assessment.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: DATA_SOURCE_CODE Description: 

The code for the comprehensive assessment tool used when completing the child's assessment.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: ASSESSMENT_TOOL_NAME Description: 

The name for the method of determining the child's level of functioning within the three areas assessed: -The initiation of special education service -When they exit from early childhood special education -When they begin kindergarten or within thirty (30) days of their sixth birthday.

Category: Developmental Assessment Variable: OUTCOME_1A_CODE Description: 

The code for the positive social-emotional skills (including social relations): To what extent the child shows age-appropriate functioning, across a variety of settings and situations is reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_CODE_1 Description: 

The code of the first incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_NAME_3 Description: 

The name that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the third disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_NAME_1 Description: 

The name of the first incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_NAME_3 Description: 

The name of the third incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_CODE_3 Description: 

The code that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the third disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: DISCIPLINARY_ACTION_CODE_3 Description: 

The third reported code for the disciplinary action taken as a consequence of the incident.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_CODE_2 Description: 

The code that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the second disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: DISCIPLINARY_ACTION_NAME_2 Description: 

The second reported name of the disciplinary action taken as a consequence of the incident.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: LENGTH_OF_ACTION_1 Description: 

The number of days assigned for the first reported consequence in half-day increments.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_NAME_1 Description: 

The name that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the first disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: START_OF_ACTION_3 Description: 

The date on which the student began the third reported consequence.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_CODE_4 Description: 

The code that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the fourth disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_CODE_1 Description: 

The code that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the first disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: DISCIPLINARY_ACTION_NAME_3 Description: 

The third reported name of the disciplinary action taken as a consequence of the incident.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: START_OF_ACTION_2 Description: 

The date on which the student began the second reported consequence.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_CODE_2 Description: 

The code of the second incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: LENGTH_OF_ACTION_3 Description: 

The number of days assigned for the third reported consequence in half-day increments.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_NAME_2 Description: 

The name that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the second disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: FOLLOW_UP_NAME_4 Description: 

The name that indicates the type of follow-up and/or educational services provided to the student after the start of the fourth disciplinary action(s) reported.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: IS_SEXUAL_ASSAULT Description: 

Flag that indicates when an incident of physical violence involved oral, anal, or vaginal penetration forcibly or against the person's will or where the victim is incapable of giving consent.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_DATE Description: 

The day the incident that led to the disciplinary action occurred.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_CODE_4 Description: 

The code of the fourth incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: DISCIPLINARY_ACTION_NAME_1 Description: 

The first reported name of the disciplinary action taken as a consequence of the incident.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: START_OF_ACTION_1 Description: 

The date on which the student began the first reported consequence.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_NAME_4 Description: 

The name of the fourth incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: IS_SERIOUS_BODILY_INJURY Description: 

Flag that indicates when the Incident Type involved physical violence with injury.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_NAME_2 Description: 

The name of the second incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: DISCIPLINARY_ACTION_CODE_2 Description: 

The second reported code for the disciplinary action taken as a consequence of the incident.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: INCIDENT_TYPE_CODE_3 Description: 

The code of the third incident associated with the reason that led to the disciplinary action.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: LENGTH_OF_ACTION_2 Description: 

The number of days assigned for the second reported consequence in half-day increments.

Category: Discipline Records Variable: DISCIPLINARY_ACTION_CODE_1 Description: 

The first reported code for the disciplinary action taken as a consequence of the incident.

Category: Employment Variable: EMPLOYMENT_STATUS_DESC Description: 

A description of the employment status of the staff member including separation reasons and new teacher status.

Category: Employment Variable: ANNUAL_SALARY Description: 

The full-time base annual salary for employees in given assignments in order to meet the needs of Title I Part A of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). For others, providing this data is optional.

Category: Employment Variable: FUNDED_POS_STATUS_CODE Description: 

A code of the status of the assignment as either filled by permanent employees, approved substitutes, or outside contractors.

Category: Employment Variable: FUNDED_POS_STATUS_DESC Description: 

A description of the status of the assignment as either filled by permanent employees, approved substitutes, or outside contractors.

Category: Employment Variable: HIRE_DATE Description: 

The initial date of hire (date employed) for the staff member within the district.

Category: Employment Variable: IS_FUNDED_POSITION Description: 

Flag to specify if the personnel position is funded (Y or N).

Category: Employment Variable: HIGHEST_EDUCATION_DEGREE_NAME Description: 

This is the highest degree earned by a staff member.

Category: Employment Variable: TERMINATION_DATE Description: 

The date of termination/retirement/resignation of the staff member.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_12 Description: 

The twelfth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_2 Description: 

The second permit grade level for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_CERTIFICATION_12 Description: 

The twelfth endorsement certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_CERTIFICATION_13 Description: 

The thirteenth endorsement certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_8 Description: 

The eighth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_4 Description: 

The fourth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_3 Description: 

The third permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_9 Description: 

The ninth permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_9 Description: 

The ninth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_6 Description: 

The sixth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_8 Description: 

The eighth permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_5 Description: 

The fifth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_GRADE_LEVEL_13 Description: 

The thirteenth endorsement grade level for the staff member sorted alphabetically (e.g., subject area endorsements).

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_7 Description: 

The seventh permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_11 Description: 

The eleventh permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: LICENSE_TYPE Description: 

Name of the Certificate License Type (e.g., Provisional Teaching Certificate or School Counselor License) which is populated when the educator completes their application for certification through MOECS.

Category: Endorsements Variable: LICENSE_STATUS Description: 

Certificate status description (i.e., Valid, Expired, Invalid, Nullified, Revoked, Suspended, and Withdrawn).

Category: Endorsements Variable: PERMIT_STATUS Description: 

Permit status description (e.g., Valid, Expired, etc.).

Category: Endorsements Variable: LICENSE_CATEGORY Description: 

Name of the Certificate License Category (e.g., Teaching, School Counselor, etc.).

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_2 Description: 

The second endorsed permit of the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_10 Description: 

The tenth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_6 Description: 

The sixth permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_10 Description: 

The tenth permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_11 Description: 

The eleventh permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_1 Description: 

The first permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: PERMIT_TYPE Description: 

Name of Permit type (There are four different types of permits). Permits are utilized in situations where a school is unable to fill a position with an appropriately certified and/or endorsed educator.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_CODE_13 Description: 

The thirteenth permit code for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_13 Description: 

The thirteenth permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_12 Description: 

The twelfth permit certificate for the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_3 Description: 

The third endorsed permit of the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_4 Description: 

The fourth endorsed permit of the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: ENDORSE_PERMIT_5 Description: 

The fifth endorsed permit of the staff member sorted alphabetically.

Category: Endorsements Variable: INSTITUTION_NAME Description: 

Official entity name for where Higher Education was received by staff.

Category: Endorsements Variable: INSTITUTION_STATE Description: 

State's name where Higher Education degree was received by staff.