Copyright by Jessica L. Dunning-Lozano 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Jessica L. Dunning-Lozano Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Removal, Isolation, and Discipline in Texas Schools: An Ethnographic Study of a 6th - 12th Grade Disciplinary Alternative Education Program Committee: Javier Auyero, Co-Supervisor Robert Crosnoe, Co-Supervisor Simone Browne Ben Carrington John Hartigan Removal, Isolation, and Discipline in Texas Schools: An Ethnographic Study of a 6th - 12th Grade Disciplinary Alternative Education Program by Jessica L. Dunning-Lozano, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2015 Dedication I dedicate this work to my parents, Rosa and Edward. Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisers and dissertation committee co-chairs, Dr. Javier Auyero and Dr. Robert Crosnoe, for all of their support and guidance throughout the long process of conducting fieldwork and writing the dissertation. Dr. Auyero and Dr. Crosnoe have been invaluable mentors to me; they believed in my project and provided me with the methodological and theoretical tools to successfully undertake this research. I sincerely thank you both for everything. I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Simone Browne, Dr. Ben Carrington, and Dr. John Hartigan for their valuable feedback and generous giving of their time over the years to discuss various aspects of my project. I also want to recognize and thank the various funding sources that supported this research: Center for Mexican-American Studies Dissertation Fellowship, the C.B. Smith Endowment in Mexico-US Relations, University of Texas President’s Fellowship , the American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program, the Marilyn Yarbrough Dissertation/ Teaching Fellowship Program, and the National Academy of Education/ Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program. There many other key people and mentors who have been vital to my academic trajectory and the completion of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Dr. Omar McRoberts, my Master's thesis adviser at the University of Chicago, for encouraging my early research interests in ethnography and alternative education. Dr. Mary Kelsey, my undergraduate honors thesis adviser at UC Berkeley, who suggested so many years ago v that I consider pursuing a PhD in Sociology. Manuel Alcala, my academic advisor at Laney College, for lighting a fire under me and pushing me to pursue a four-year college degree. My continuation high school principal and vice principal, Mrs. Constance Hubbard and the late Barry Shapiro; I thank you both for every single opportunity - the second, third, and fourth chances - you gave me, and for envisioning more for me at a time when I could not. I also want to thank my family, my mother Rosa and my father Edward, and my sisters Audra and Suzette. My niece Marisa, whose presence in this world changed my life and gave me something to fight for. Johnny, whose dreams and ambition inspired me to strive for more, and David and Eric, whose compassion and friendship kept me afloat. Lastly, my partner Sergio and our daughter Naela, thank you for being my family, for supporting me, and for giving me hope. vi Removal, Isolation, and Discipline in Texas Schools: An Ethnographic Study of a 6th - 12th Grade Disciplinary Alternative Education Program Jessica L. Dunning-Lozano, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Co-Supervisors: Javier Auyero and Robert Crosnoe Abstract: This dissertation investigates the school-level impact of punitive zero- tolerance education policies through an ethnographic study of the daily practices in place at a 6th – 12th grade Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) in Texas. This is the first ethnography of a public DAEP in Texas, a product of zero-tolerance policy designed to punish and secondly to educate. The analysis draws from a rich set of data consisting of 27 months of participant observations, 12 of these months as a substitute teacher, 90 in-depth interviews with program staff, students, parents, student survey, and an archive of student disciplinary documents. The study addresses four research questions: 1) How does the penetration of the carceral arm of the criminal justice system into public schools affect the quality of education? 2) How is discipline accomplished in this program, specifically, what are its forms, how does it vary, what is the extent of its operation, and what are its effects? 3) How does this experience vary by race, gender, class, and citizenship status? And 4) How do these disciplinary practices impact teachers, students, and families? DAEPs have little state over site, a dropout rate five times higher than mainstream schools in Texas, and have become a more common academic transition point for boys, Latinos, black, and low-income youth. This in-depth study of a DAEP vii offers a nuanced understanding of the form, effects, variation, and extension of discipline within and beyond the program’s bounds, and contributes to our understanding of the micro-effects of punitive school policies on children, their families, and school authorities. Additionally, it examines one way the punitive state exerts discipline over marginalized youth populations through disciplinary school practices. Lastly, the dissertation provides the knowledge needed to improve the educational experiences of the most vulnerable youth populations. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xii List of Figures ...................................................................................................... xiii Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................................1 Chapter Two: Setting the Stage ...............................................................................5 DAEP Field Site ..............................................................................................5 Alternative Education .....................................................................................8 Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs in Texas..................................9 Organization of Dissertation .........................................................................12 Chapter Three: School Ethnography ......................................................................15 Gaining Access ....................................................................................16 27 Months in the Field .........................................................................16 Ethnography .........................................................................................19 Recruitment ..........................................................................................20 Interviews .............................................................................................20 Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................22 Becoming a Substitute ..................................................................................23 Interviewee Demographics ...........................................................................24 Data Analysis ................................................................................................25 Student Survey ..............................................................................................27 2011 - 2012 Archive of Disciplinary Documents .........................................27 Reflexivity in the Field .................................................................................28 A Note on Teachers ......................................................................................31 Chapter Four: From Deficient Students to Docile Bodies: School Discipline, Race, and Rehabilitation in Texas ..........................................................................36 School Discipline ..........................................................................................40 The Induction Period.....................................................................................44 Orientation: an Introduction to the Rules......................................................46 ix Moralizing Speeches .....................................................................................57 Variation in Student Discipline .....................................................................61 Discussion .....................................................................................................63 Transforming "Culturally Deficient" Students into Docile Bodies ..............65 Conclusion ....................................................................................................68 Chapter Five: Gang Members, Hood Rats, and Decent Kids: How Teachers Draw Distinctions between students in a Disciplinary School Setting ...................73 Schools, Zero Tolerance, & Inequalities.......................................................75 Findings.........................................................................................................82 The Largest Concentration of Gangs in Central Texas ........................83 Threatening and Unpredictable Kids ...................................................88