Racial minority youth are disproportionally removed from their learning environment due to school discipline and placed in special education for emotional disturbance. These disparities continue to trouble families, educators, and policy makers, particularly within urban schools. Yet there is a paucity of research on how behavioral outcome…

Background: Cumulatively, research indicates that teachers who are emotionally supportive and create positive classroom climates influence the outcomes of at-risk students in nontrivial ways. Prior research has also established that teacher behaviors that support autonomy, provide higher level thinking opportunities, and value students' social and…