Russ Skiba is Professor in Counseling and Educational Psychology at Indiana University, and directs the school outreach practicum in the School Psychology Program. Skiba is currently Director of the Equity Project, a consortium of research projects offering evidence-based information to educators and policymakers on equity in special education and school discipline. He has worked with schools across the country in the areas of the management of disruptive behavior, school discipline, and school violence, and has directed numerous federal and state research grants. He was a member and the lead author of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Zero Tolerance. His work has been cited in numerous national media sources, including USA Today, Time Magazine,the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and Nightline, and he has testified before the United States Civil Rights Commission and both Houses of Congress on issues of school discipline and school violence. He was awarded the Push for Excellence Award by the Rainbow Coalition/Operation PUSH for his work on African American disproportionality in school suspension.His publcations in the areas of school violence, zero tolerance, and equity in education may be found on the Equity Project website: ceep.indiana.edu/equity.

June, 1987 Ph.D. in Educational Psychology: Special Education Programs
University of Minnesota

May, 1983 M.A. in Educational Psychology: Measurement and Evaluation
University of Minnesota

• American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force (Lead Author). (2008). Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools? An evidentiary review and recommendations. American Psychologist, 63, 852-862.
• Skiba, R. J., Simmons, A. D., Ritter, S., Gibb, A., Rausch, M. K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C. G. (2008). Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74, 264-288.
• Skiba, R. J., & Rausch, M. K. (2006). School disciplinary systems: Alternatives to suspension and expulsion. In G. Bear & K. Minke (Eds.), Children’s Needs III: Understanding and Addressing the Developmental Needs of Children. Washington, D. C.: National Association of School Psychologists.
• Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Kohler, K., Henderson, M., & Wu, T. (2006). The context of minority disproportionality: Practitioner perspectives on special education referral. Teachers' College Record, 108, 1424-1459.
• Skiba, R. J., Poloni-Staudinger. L., Simmons, A. B., Feggins, L. R., & Chung, C. G. (2005). Unproven Links: Can Poverty Explain Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education? Journal of Special Education,, 39, 130-144.

• Skiba, R. (2008, July). Changing the data, changing our minds: Disproportionality and improving schools. Keynote presentation at the 2008 USDOE Office of Special Education Programs Project Directors’ Meeting, Washington, D. C.  
• Skiba, R., Horner, R., Chung, C. G., Rausch, M. K., May, S. L., and Tobin, T. (2008, March). Race is not neutral: A national investigation of African American and Latino disproportionality in school discipline. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY. 
• Skiba, R., Reynolds, C. R., Graham, S., Sheras, P. Conoley, J. C., & Garcia-Vazquiez, E. (2007, August). Equity and effectiveness of zero tolerance: Recommendations for change. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.

• The Equity Project: Addressing Disproportionality in Special Education in Indiana -  We received another year of funding this year from the IDOE to monitor and help address disproportionate representation of students of color in special education in Indiana.  The project is an extensive one, assisting the state in preparing information for federal reports, conducting research on the factors that contribute to disproportionality, and contributing to the national dialogue on equity in special education.  The grant supports four graduate students in school psychology.
• Disproportionate Minority Contact: Understanding Contributing Factors - The grant period is from April 1, 2008 until September 30, 2008, with an automatic no-cost extension until March 30, 2009.  This grant, extending an earlier funded project with ICJI, will begin to explore some systemic and individual variables that may contribute to disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system.
• School Disciplinary Climate and Its Relationship to Educational and Community outcomes for African American Students - Currently in its second year, this grant is studying the over-representation of African American students in school discipline.  It supports one graduate student.