This interactive dashboard map of U.S. public schools was derived from the latest available national data on out-of-school suspensions (OSS) in U.S. public schools. The data were obtained from the 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), a dataset that gathers information on key education and civil rights issues in U.S. public schools. The CRDC is publicly accessible through the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The CRDC data set contains information on student enrollment and educational programs and services, as well as on disciplinary practices such as suspension in pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. Beginning in 2010, the CRDC has been conducted every other year, with the latest available data (2017-18) released in October of 2020 https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-2017-18.html).
In the 2017-18 CRDC, there was a total of individual 97,632 U.S. public schools in the data set. Because many Pre-K programs were included as part of a large public school, we report these as separate school levels. In this map, we included only regular public schools – we did not include any schools that were identified as alternative, magnet, correction/detention, single-sex, or special education schools. Each school was categorized as either Pre-K, Elementary (enrolled students from kindergarten to a maximum of 6th grade), middle school (enrolled students only between 6th and 10th grade), or high school (enrolled students only between 9th and 12 grade). We did not include schools that combined middle and high schools into a single school nor did we include schools that enrolled students in all grades from kindergarten to 12th grade. Finally, some schools failed to report either their enrollment or use of OSS and were not included. Thus, the final maximum sample of public schools and Pre-K programs totaled 107,218 (27,852 Pre-K; 50,452 elementary; 14,288 middle; 14,625 high schools) enrolling more than 45,200,000 students.
Out-of-school suspension (OSS) counts for each school were computed by summing the number of students experiencing a single or multiple suspensions both with and without disabilities separately. There were more than 4.6 million reports of suspensions in U.S. public schools in 2017-2018. To account for differences in school size, OSS rates per 1,000 students were calculated by dividing the OSS counts by the total student enrollment and multiplying this by 1,000. Thus, all OSS rates presented are standardized per 1,000 students enrolled.
Rates are presented for the school as a whole, and broken down by demographic characteristics of students (race/ethnicity, gender, disability status, and Limited English Proficiency). National U.S. rates are presented for comparative purposes.
If a school did not suspend in any category, a rate of 0 is indicated. If there was no enrollment for calculating a particular rate, no rate is indicated (**).
The average U.S. OSS rate was 32.79 for every 1,000 students enrolled (standard deviation = 62.90). Based on individual school OSS rates, each school was assigned to a Suspension Level group that included those schools not using OSS (None), those in the bottom quartiles of use (Low; OSS rates raged < 11.35), second quartile (Moderate; range 11.36-29.62), third quartile (High; range 29.63-66.80), and fourth quartile (Very High; > 66.81). Suspension levels are color coded on the map.
The map is also layered by median household income by census tract in 2018.
Users also can navigate to state-level data; aggregated over all schools within a state. You can see state rates and US rankings and can change these to see rates/rankings filtered by different levels of schools.
This graphic mapping was created in Tableau. Best interactivity occurs when viewed on a computer rather than a mobile device.
This dashboard was supported by grants from the Administration for Children and Families (90Y#0122-01-00) and the Spencer Foundation.
Users of the OSS Map can scroll in and out to see individual school. You can also type in a school name to search for it. To see all schools delete the school name in the search box.
Hovering the cursor over a school brings up information on that particular school that provide the name, city, state, zip of the school, the type of school (Pre-K, Elementary, Middle, or High School), the school’s OSS rate, deviation from national rate, and OSS rates for certain student demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, disability status).
The filters on the right allow the user to select certain schools; by state, suspension level, type of school. Click on the filter and make your selection and the map will filter out schools that do not match. Note: AIAN = American Indian/Alaska Native
You can download data by clicking on a school (or multiple schools by holding down the Control key) and click on the "View Data" icon at the top of the pop-up box.
You can also enter a zip code or city into the Search function when you move your cursor on the map to reveal it in the upper left. To return to the default view, hit the "Home" button.
To move the map, hold down the button on your mouse and move the cursor in the direction you want.
This research was supported in part by a grant from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (Grant #: (90Y#0122-01-00) totaling $95,790 with 25 percentage funded by ACF/HHS and 75 percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy Requirement. Support was also provided by funding from the Spencer Foundation and the Sanford Foundation.
As members of Arizona State University, we acknowledge the 22 Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University’s four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today.