Racial and Ethnic Identity, Gender, and School Suspension: Heterogeneous Effects Across Hispanic and Caribbean Subgroups

This study relies on data from the 2018 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, a statewide representative sample of Florida youth in public middle and high schools, to explore the effects of race/ethnicity and gender on youths’ chances of receiving a school suspension. The findings demonstrate that Black/non-Hispanic, Haitian, Caribbean and Dominican youth are likelier to receive a school suspension, particularly among female students. The evidence of a Hispanic-White difference is mixed, apart from Puerto Rican youth facing a heightened risk. The study’s findings demonstrate the essentiality of skin tone and physical appearance over subgroup-specific perceptions of criminal and cultural threat. Despite this implication, the authors conclude that Puerto Rican students may still experience persistent disadvantages as an institutional response to their unique migrant status to Florida.