Study Links Teacher Turnover to Higher Rates of Student Suspensions, Disciplinary Referrals

Studies show that teacher turnover has a negative impact on students’ academic performance, but little is known about other ways that their departures affect student behavior. In a new study of New York City public schools, researchers found that teacher turnover is linked to higher rates of student suspensions and requests from teachers seeking disciplinary action, known as office disciplinary referrals (ODR).

“Teacher turnover has generally been studied for its impact on student achievement, but there are a host of reasons to expect that turnover, which creates disruption and instability, would also lead to more disciplinary infractions and suspensions,” says lead author Luis Rodriguez, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at NYU Steinhardt. “Replacing teachers disrupts existing teacher–student relationships and can also lead to the loss of crucial contextual knowledge that helps educators interpret and respond to behavior appropriately.”

Using New York City Public School data for grades 6 through 12 spanning 11 academic years (2011–2012 to 2021–2022), researchers analyzed student characteristics, including demographics, special education status, and disciplinary records; school characteristics, including student enrollment size and teacher-student ratio; and teacher data, including full-time status, years of experience, and resignations (both mid-year and at the end of the year).

In an analysis determining how data relates to a typical change in teacher turnover rates, their findings show a statistically significant relationship between increases in the percentage of teachers who left their schools and increases in the probability of a student receiving an ODR or suspension, particularly for Black students and other students of extremely underrepresented ethnoracial backgrounds.

The article is published in the American Journal of Education.

Key findings:

• When teachers stay, students are less likely to be disciplined. A 13.3 percent decrease in teachers within a school who left at the end of the school year is correlated with a 5.7 percent reduction in students receiving an ODR, and a 7.2 percent reduction in students receiving a suspension.
• Similarly, a 4.5 percent decrease in teachers who left in the middle of the school year correlated to a 1.9 percent reduction in students receiving an ODR and a 2.4 percent reduction of students receiving a suspension.
• Overall, Black students and other students of extremely underrepresented ethnoracial backgrounds were the only students more likely to receive an ODR or suspension with increased turnover.
• As teachers with more years of experience departed mid-year, students’ probability of disciplinary actions increased. The probability that a student received an ODR or suspension increased by roughly 20 to 30 percent for each year of experience the departing teachers had, on average.

“As these correlations reflect data at the school level, we expect the resulting estimates are more modest than if we had data that allowed us to estimate how discipline would change after a child’s own teacher left,” says Rodriguez. “However, even with the limitations, these findings suggest that turnover is not just a workforce issue, but also a school climate issue. Our findings reaffirm that policymakers and practitioners must design strategies that both reduce turnover and buffer its effects—through mentorship and induction supports, targeted professional development, and fostering inclusive school cultures.”

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