Teacher Turnover Linked to Higher Suspension Rates for Black Students

Low pay and high stress — that combination alone drives many educators to a tough decision: resigning. Although we picture teachers sticking it out in the classroom until the end of the school year, that’s not always the case. When they walk out midyear, their students are left dealing with a revolving door of substitutes, disrupted learning, and increased discipline.

Indeed, Black and “extremely underrepresented” students are more likely to be sent to the office and suspended than their Hispanic and Asian peers in schools where there is a high teacher turnover, according to a new study.

The research, published in the American Journal of Education, found a strong relationship between teacher turnover rates and school punishments for students, such as office referrals and suspensions. 

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“As more veteran teachers are leaving, or teachers who have been in the school environment are leaving, those that replace them tend to have less experience,” says lead author Luis Rodriguez, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at New York University. “That can also introduce a disruption in terms of classroom management [that] could affect student behavior more negatively, and that could also result in more suspensions down the road.” 

When Experienced Teachers Leave, Suspensions Go Up

Researchers found that the likelihood that a student would be sent to the office or suspended jumped by an average of about 20 to 30% for every year of teaching experience the departing teacher had. But when teachers stay, students are less likely to get in trouble. In schools with about a 13% decrease in end-of-year teacher turnover, office referrals dropped by about 6% and suspensions were down 7%.

Rodriguez and his co-author, Christopher Redding, an associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Florida, analyzed 11 years of data from 2011 to 2022 for New York City Public School students in grades six through 12. They looked at both demographic characteristics, such as special education status and disciplinary records, and school characteristics — including enrollment size, teacher-student ratio, and teacher data, including full-time status, years of experience, and when they resigned.  

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Local Consequences, But a National Problem

In New York City, the nation’s largest school district, 12% of teachers left their jobs during the 2022-2023 school year. That’s the lowest departure rate the city had seen in roughly a decade, according to a report from the city’s Independent Budget Office. 

The drop in retention in New York City is part of a larger trend nationwide. Across the country, teachers are leaving the profession — about 8% quit annually, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Fewer trained professionals in the classroom can leaveschools less equipped to handle student misbehavior, Rodriguez says. 

RELATED: Teachers as Likely to Leave the Classroom Now as Last Year

In a school where there is a high turnover, “it may be easier for schools to more quickly resort to ‘an easier option’ to address student behavior as opposed to a less exclusionary alternative that may require more time more staff to carry out,” he says. 

In other words, the “easier option” is suspending students and sending them to the office instead of working with students and families to address the root causes of behavior challenges through support and collaboration.

What Works: A Positive School Environment

In light of the findings, Rodriguez and Redding suggest policymakers focus on teacher retention strategies and professionarl development to curb disciplinary rates. Competitive salaries, induction programs, increased support for substitutes and temporary staff, and anti-bias training are just some of the recommendations the study points that can help keep teachers. 

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Above all, Rodriguez says that a positive school environment, one where school leaders give teachers the autonomy to manage their own classrooms, is the key to retaining staff. 

This story was originally published on Word In Black on October 21st, 2025