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Virginia Tech

A Descriptive Study Related to Office Discipline Referrals for Assault, Assault and Battery and the Subsequent Referrals to Law Enforcement for Criminal Charges Against Students by Race, Gender, and Those with Disabilities in One School District in Virginia

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the data of the overarching research question: What are the demographic characteristics of race, gender, and disability status of Office Discipline referrals (ODRs) related to law enforcement referrals for assault, assault, and battery and the subsequent referral to law enforcement for criminal charges in one suburban school division in Virginia. The findings emphasized that African American males were disproportionately represented in Office Discipline Referrals compared to any other subgroup included in the study. The data revealed that a higher proportion of Black female students were referred to law enforcement compared to male students. Furthermore, students with disabilities had a higher percentage of Office Discipline Referrals; however, the percentage and number of referrals to law enforcement did not support the data. The research had some limitations. The introduction of a new behavior-tracking system for recording Office Discipline Referrals affected the accuracy of the data. This raises concerns about the necessity for additional training and support for school administrators using student behavior administrative response (SBAR) and the potential for erroneous input of ODRs into the system and disciplinary procedures.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Education
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Department dc:contributor.department
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2024

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Byrd, Tiffany H.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Cash, Carol S.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Johnstad, Susan
  • Ferebee-Johns, Fontaine Monique
  • Price, Ted S.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:41107
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/120924

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Byrd, Tiffany H.. A Descriptive Study Related to Office Discipline Referrals for Assault, Assault and Battery and the Subsequent Referrals to Law Enforcement for Criminal Charges Against Students by Race, Gender, and Those with Disabilities in One School District in Virginia. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2024. https://hdl.handle.net/10919/120924