The study, which drew on data from a large urban county-level school district, was led by David Figlio, an economics professor at the University of Rochester, and Umut Özek, an economist with the RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization.
However, in the first year of the ban, school suspensions climbed as much as 12%, disproportionately affecting Black students. They mostly fell in the second year back to pre-ban levels, but this initial spike in suspensions should give policymakers and education leaders pause, said Figlio. (Nationally, Black students are generally disciplined at higher rates than their peers.)