You are here

About the Data - Discipline

Overview | FAQ | General Information | Data Availability | Data Sources | Useful Links | Glossary  | Data Privacy | Data Errata | Data @ DPI | Discipline prior to 2016-2017

Overview

 

Discipline data for students enrolled in Wisconsin public schools are available on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Website. Data include information about out-of-school suspensions and expulsions and incidents resulting in these suspensions/expulsions. 


Frequently Asked Questions about Discipline Data

 
  1. How are incidents not resulting in disciplinary removals reported?

Data are collected and reported only for incidents resulting in disciplinary removals. For WISEdash Public, the focus is on incidents resulting in removals from school grounds, i.e., expulsions and (out-of-school) suspensions.


WISEdash Discipline Dashboards: General Information

 

WISEdash is an effective tool for trend analysis and comparison across multiple demographic factors. Wisconsin collects and reports discipline data for all students regardless of grade. Data about disciplinary removals and incidents are disaggregated by student demographic group and reported at the state, district, and school levels.

Incident Rate

The total count of student-incidents which result in out-of-school suspension or expulsion are reported as a percentage of enrolled students. For any given school year, this percentage is the count of student-incidents divided by the total count of enrolled students on the fall (i.e., Third Friday of September) count date.

Note that:

  • An incident is any student behavior which occurred on school grounds or at a school activity during the regular school year which resulted in an expulsion of any length or an out of school suspension for ½ of the regular school day or more are counted. For expulsions the action (removal) may begin in the subsequent school year. The incident and action are reported for the school year in which the date of incident occurred. A single incident may include multiple students, perpetrators but not victims, when each student has a qualifying action (removal).
  • Any student-incident resulting in a suspension or expulsion of a student is counted as one incident. Each incident is associated with the demographic group of each student disciplined as a result of that incident.
  • Each student-incident is counted separately regardless of whether repeat infractions are by the same or different students.
  • Each student-incident is associated with one and only one school regardless of the mobility status of the disciplined student.
  • A single incident may occasionally result in multiple removals, e.g. a suspension followed by an expulsion, for a single student.

Incident Count by Behavior

All student-incidents resulting in an out-of-school suspension or expulsion are reported by behavior (e.g. assault, alcohol, etc). Handgun, shotgun or rifle, other firearm, and dangerous weapon - not a firearm are grouped together under weapon-related incidents. If an incident resulting in removal of a student is associated with multiple behaviors, then reporting is based on the primary behavior. The most serious infraction or offense committed is identified as the primary behavior.

Out of School Suspension Rate

The total count of out-of-school student-suspensions are reported as a percent of enrolled students. Students who are suspended multiple times for a single incident are counted multiple times in the out of school suspension rate. For any given school year, this percentage is the count of suspensions divided by the total count of enrolled students on the fall (i.e., Third Friday of September) count date.

Expulsion Count

Expulsion is presented as the total count of student-expulsions, though very uncommon, students who are expelled multiple times during the same school year are counted multiple times in the expulsion count. Expulsion rate is very small when compared to suspension rate, as such, a count is used rather than rate for this chart.


Data Availability

 
  • 2016-17 onward
  • Includes data for all public schools (including charter schools) in school districts and all non-district charter schools (under s. 118.40(2r) , Wis. Stats).
  • To view Discipline data for 2016-17 forward, see WISEdash.
  • To view Discipline data from 2007-08 through 2015-16, see the WISEdash Data File Downloads.
  • To view Discipline data from 1998-98 through 2006-07 please see the WINSS Historical Data Files.

Data Sources

 
  • Beginning with the 2016-17 school year, discipline data began being sourced from the WISEdata system.
  • Between 2005-06 and 2015-16 discipline data was sourced from the Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES) Collections.

Useful Links

 

More About the Data Collection

Laws, Rules, and Guidance