Disparities in Discipline: A Look at School Disciplinary Actions for Utah's American Indian Students

Abstract

A number of recent studies and reports have examined the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) and its impact on students of color. Few, if any, of these documents have focused on the troubling and undeniable effects of the pipeline on American Indian students. Nationally, 22% of all American Indian students receive disciplinary action at school, compared to 14.1% of all white students.1 In Utah, these students are almost four times (3.8) more likely to receive a school disciplinary action compared to their white counterparts.