Jo Al Khafaji-King

Jo Al Khafaji-King is a PhD candidate at Wagner studying public policy analysis. They are also a 2024 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellow and an IES-PIRT Fellow. Jo studies K-12 education policy in the U.S., with an emphasis on how exclusionary school discipline policies may impact equitable outcomes for marginalized groups and how schools address student behavior, whether through suspension, special education classification, or police in schools. Jo is framed by economics of education and sociology literatures and uses rigorous quantitative methods to understand causal relationships between policy and student outcomes. Currently, Jo's research focuses on inequities in school discipline practices, unintended consequences of school discipline reform, and the effects of police interventions in schools. Jo holds an MA in Economics from Miami University of Ohio and BAs in Economics and Spanish from Western Washington University.