Suspended Education: School Punishment and the Legacy of Racial Injustice (March 2025)

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 "Timely and terribly important." ~Jonathan Kozol, author of The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America 

 "In this ground-breaking book, Kupchik dives deep into the contentious issue of school suspensions, revealing the stark ineffectiveness and harm of such punitive measures. Drawing on a rich structural race perspective, the author delves into historical battles over racial segregation and how they shape today's punitive approaches to student behavior. The volume shines a critical light on the disproportionate impact of these practices on students of color, particularly Black students. Through a convincing blend of historical context, statistical evidence, and a call for a paradigm shift towards more inclusive and restorative practices, this book challenges educators, policymakers, and society at large to reevaluate the use of suspension. By examining the roots of these policies and their long-term effects, the book challenges us to reconsider the role of education in perpetuating racial oppression. This book is a critical addition to the conversation on race, education, and the enduring legacy of segregation in America." ~Victor Rios, author of Human Targets: Schools, Police, and the Criminalization of Latino Youth 

"Suspended Education is a fascinating, well-written, and informative book that illustrates the need to center structural, historical understandings of racism in our analyses of all aspects of contemporary American society, including how and why we punish kids the way we do. Bringing together historical research, national data on school punishment trends over time, and rich findings from two qualitative case studies, Kupchik shows that the ineffective practice of suspending kids from school—a practice we take to be “normal” despite being ineffective and unfair—is tied directly to the history of white backlash to U.S. school desegregation efforts in the 1970s. I hope criminologists, school officials, and anyone who cares about the education of all of our children reads this book carefully and takes its lessons seriously." ~Margaret Hagerman, author of Children of a Troubled Time: Growing Up with Racism in Trump’s America 

 "Suspended Education is a deeply researched, compelling examination of the racial biases embedded in America’s school disciplinary systems. Through meticulous archival analysis and interviews, Kupchik reveals how exclusionary practices, like suspensions, disproportionately target Black students - a modern legacy of resistance to desegregation. Thought-provoking and empirically grounded, this work exposes the structural racism that persists within educational systems, offering a well-substantiated case for reform." ~Reginald Dwayne Betts, author of Felon