Richard Welsh

By Jenna Somers Richard Welsh Last year, Richard Welsh, founding director of the School Discipline Lab, reported findings on the persistence of racial disparities in exclusionary school discipline practices. Despite suspensions declining over the past decade as schools reformed their policies, exclusionary disciplinary rates remained higher for… Read More

By Jenna Somers When a teacher refers a student to the principal’s office or a principal suspends a student, parents might first receive a phone call and then have a conference with administrators and teachers. But what role do prior interactions and the relationships between families and school personnel… Read More

By Jenna Somers Richard Welsh According to an essay published in Educational Researcher, a decade of colorblind school discipline policy reforms have not disproportionally benefited Black students who remain the most often disciplined in schools and miss valuable classroom learning time. Given that fact, the authors say interventions directly… Read More

Despite the practice of exclusionary discipline in schools declining over the past decade, policy and program reforms intended to replace the practice largely have not benefited African American students, according to a new study from associate professor of education and public policy Richard Welsh recently published in Children and Youth Services Review. Read More

By Jenna Somers Richard Welsh, associate professor of education and public policy Two recent studies indicate that school-level factors play a considerable role in racial disparities in school discipline. The first study, conducted primarily through a series of interviews, reveals disciplinary tensions between district leaders, school administrators, and… Read More

By Jenna Somers Richard Welsh Racial inequality in school discipline is a major problem across the United States. Black students experience disproportional office disciplinary referrals and out-of-school suspensions, which lead to greater losses in instructional time. Reducing the use of exclusionary discipline is critical for improving academic achievement and educational… Read More

Professor of Public Policy and Education Thomas Smith and Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy Richard O. Welsh joined the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development this fall. Read More