Public debates on student suspension center on issues surrounding due process, racial discrimination, inappropriate uses of suspension, and the fundamental disciplinary value of suspension. This paper examines some fundamental factors influencing student suspension in order to establish a basis for the development of policy alternatives. Detailed data, collected by the congressionally mandated "Safe School Study" from a nationwide subsample of 641 schools, were used in the analyses. The data sets obtained from these schools included results of a mail survey of the school principals, a self-administered questionnaire survey of all 23,895 of their teachers, and the onsite self-administered questionnaire survey of 31,373 students randomly selected from these schools. While students' misbehavior and antisocial attitudes may indeed contribute to an increased likelihood of suspension, findings also show that suspension rates increase if: (1) teachers are seen by students as relatively uninterested in them, (2) teachers believe that students are incapable of solving problems, (3) disciplinary matters are handled largely by administrative rules, (4) the school is not able to provide consistent and fair governance, (5) there is a relatively high degree of academic bias among school personnel, and (6) there is a relatively high degree of racial bias present at the school. (Author/MLF)