Chapter 3: School Discipline and the LGBTQ+ Youth

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education reported that suspension and expulsion rates have reached all-time highs over the past 40 years. During that time, marginalized students, such as African Americans, Latinx, Native Americans, and LGBTQ+, have seen the largest increase in disciplinary actions, and are overrepresented in the suspension and expulsion numbers in public education. For example, according to public data from the Department of Public Instruction (2019), the largest school district in North Carolina reported in the 2017-18 school year that only 8% of short-term suspensions were from White students, but account for 28% of the student population. Whereas African American and Latinx students received almost 90% of the short-term suspensions. While North Carolina is highlighted, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights School Discipline Database notes that discipline disparities are a national issue. Beyond the impacts of missed instruction, these marginalized students find themselves at greater chance of interacting with the juvenile justice system as identities cut across race, gender, and sexual identity (Irvine, 2010; Kimmel, 2016; Palmer & Greytak, 2017). In some cases, these identities may be silent, especially for LGBTQ+ youth with fears of stigma, isolation, or harm if they present their true self to the public. The aim of this chapter is to explore how LGBTQ+ students are impacted by school climate, social norms, and victimization within the public schooling system, and how better understanding of the theoretical framework on homonationalism can help educators and administrators build cultural competencies to support LGBTQ+ students.