Early adverse childhood experiences and exclusionary discipline in high school

The use of school suspension and expulsion is a widespread phenomenon in American schools (Wallace et al., 2009; Owens and McLanahan, 2020). Yet, much of what we know about these exclusionary practices provide little insight into the personal biographies of the students themselves-specifically their histories of childhood trauma. Using measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), we examine the link between early ACEs (up to age 5) and school suspension/expulsion using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (1998-2010) (FFCWS). We find that a child with a cumulative ACE score are almost four times more likely to have been suspended or expelled. Importantly, this negative link persists even when accounting for factors known to be associated with ACEs and school discipline. This work offers new theoretical insight into how we understand discipline in school contexts and suggests the importance of trauma-informed interventions in the American education system.