This study examined associations between out-of-school suspension from primary school and early contact with police in New South Wales. The odds of suspended children experiencing any contact were three times those of non-suspended children. The study finds that systemic intersectoral reform to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by enacting effective alternatives to suspension is required.

Schools often manage problem behaviours by enacting exclusionary school discipline policies that remove students via suspension or expulsion. This study characterises exclusionary school discipline practices in a representative, longitudinal, population-based cohort of 71,955 students attending New South Wales public schools in Australia. The findings indicate that suspending and expelling children does not address problem behaviour.