LAUSR

Objective We examine the referral of students, including special needs students, from public schools in eastern Oklahoma to the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA), the state's juvenile justice authority. Methods Using data from 154 public schools in 10 eastern Oklahoma counties and using ordinary least squares and Tobit analyses, we explore the following general research question: Do some schools refer students to the OJA at greater rates than other schools, and if so, why? Results The results indicate that greater percentages of students referred by public schools to the OJA are consistently related to higher percentages of African‐American, Latino, and male students—and in some cases, to higher percentages of special needs students and students receiving free/reduced lunch. Conclusion These findings strongly suggest that policies and practices implemented by public schools may contribute to disparate outcomes.