Research

Exclusionary Discipline

Suspended from Work and School: Impacts of Layoff Events and Unemployment Insurance on Disciplinary Incidence (with Riley Acton and Austin Smith). IZA Discussion Paper 16423 & EdWorkingPaper No. 23-839. Under Review. PDF

We study the effects of local labor market shocks and state unemployment insurance (UI) policies on student discipline outcomes in U.S. public schools. By leveraging data on both school-level disciplinary incidence and local, firm-level layoffs across 23 states, we find that ---on average--- exposure to a layoff event has a limited impact on discipline, but this average effect masks important heterogeneity across states with varying levels of maximum UI benefits. At the lowest level of UI benefits ($265), out-of-school suspensions increase by 4.5% from its mean. However, as UI benefits increase, these negative effects are mitigated. Specifically, we estimate that on average, between $480 and $600 in maximum weekly benefits is able to effectively nullify the impact of layoffs on suspensions and expulsions. These effects of layoffs on discipline are driven by large impacts on Black and male students, and we further document that layoff shocks can increase the Black-White gap in out-of-school suspensions when UI benefit levels are low, particularly in predominantly White schools. 

Suspension Restrictions and Restorative Justice Funding in New York City: Interactions between Program and Policy Reform. For Urban Institute's Learning Curve Essay Series.

Effects of Restorative Justice Funding on Student Achievement and Perceptions of School Climate. In preparation. AEFP 2024.

Special Education

Disability as Discipline? The Effects of the New York City Suspension Ban on Identification of Students with Disabilities. EdWeek: SREE 2023 Symposium Coverage. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-902. PDF.

This study evaluates the 2012 suspension ban in New York City, specifically the ban’s impact on special education classifications. I find that the ban induced a substitution towards classification for students at high risk for suspension—Black students, male students, and those in schools with a high reliance on suspension. I find that disabilities that carry greater stigma and experience greater exclusion from the general education classroom drive the increases in classification. This substitution may benefit students if they are now receiving needed services. Simultaneously, ban-induced classifications may simply serve as a partial substitute for suspension.

Impacts of Special Education Classification on Student Achievement: Moderation by Policy Context. In Preparation.

Police in Schools

Overpoliced? Evidence on Targeted Police Interventions in Schools (with Luis Rodriguez). In Preparation. Email jk7317@nyu.edu for draft manuscript.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Gaps In STEM

An Uneven Landscape of Gender Disparities in Physics, Engineering, and Computer Science: Insights from 34 Million Bachelor’s Degrees over 21 Years (with Joseph Cimpian). In Preparation. Email jk7317@nyu.edu for draft manuscript.

Disproportionate Representation within College Majors in the US: Polarized Fields and Barriers by Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (with Zac McDermott, Joseph Cimpian, and Taek H. Kim). In Preparation. Email jk7317@nyu.edu for draft manuscript.

Research Reports

City of Marysville Residential Analysis (at the Western Washington University Center for Economic and Business Research, with Samantha Adams)

2020 Peer Cities Report (at the Western Washington University Center for Economic and Business Research, with Audrey Barber)

Point Roberts Economic Profile (at the Western Washington University Center for Economic and Business Research, with Allison Rucker)