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The School-To-Prison Pipeline
Kimberly D. Dodson, Ph.D.Western Illinois University
School of LEJA
School-to-Prison Pipeline
The school-to-prison pipeline refers to policies and practices that push children, especially minorities, out of schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Why is Zero Tolerance 100% Unequal?
Why is zero tolerance 100% unequal?
See the video below:
Who is being funneled into the pipeline?
• Black, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, or Bi-racial students;
• English language learners;
• Physically or developmentally disabled;
Learning disabled;Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students;Undocumented youth; and Homeless or foster care children.
Who is being funneled into the pipeline?
Gone Too Far: Our Kids in Handcuffs
See the video below:
Who is being funneled into the pipeline?
Jahbriel Morris and 7 other students were arrested for events relating to a water balloon fight at Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC.
Who is being funneled into the pipeline?
Instead of reprimanding the tormentors, school officials targeted the boy for wiretapping—and he was later convicted of disorderly conduct by a district judge.
A 15-year old boy with ADHD, comprehension delay disorder, and an anxiety disorder recorded classmates bullying him in school.
What happens next may surprise you.
Students of Color Face Harsher Discipline and are More Likely to be Pushed Out than Whites
Of students EXPELLED from U.S. schools each year are Black.
Of students involved in “in-school arrest” or referred to the police are Black or Latino.
Black students are three and half times more likely to be SUSPENDED than Whites.
40%
70%
3.5 XSource: www.supensionstories.com
What are the factors that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline?
Test Prep Culture
The No Child Left Behind Act utilizes standardized test scores to determine the overall performance of the school or district.
Schools participate in “push out” policies to “reshape” the testing pool.
What are the factors that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline?
Zero tolerance policies take away discretion. Any violation, no matter how minor, will result in suspension, expulsion, and/or arrest. Violations are no longer examined on a case-by-case basis but a “one-size-fits-all” model.
Zero-Tolerance Policies
What are the factors that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline?
Suspensions and Expulsions
Poor performing students received longer suspensions or more expulsions than better performing students. The “punishment gap” grew significantly during test administration periods, which suggest that schools resort to selective discipline to exclude poor performing students from the testing pool.
What are the factors that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline?
School-based arrests double the odds that students will drop out of school, when coupled with a court appearance, the odds of dropping out quadruple.
School based arrests lower job prospects and increase the likelihood of future contacts with the criminal justice system.
Criminalization of School Misconduct
Who is graduating from high school?
Black and Latino students are twice as likely TO NOT GRADUATE high school as Whites.
Of all males in state and federal PRISON do not have a high school DIPLOMA.
2 x
68%Source: www.supensionstories.com
Why should school administrators care?
If school officials are effectively denying minority students educational access, they are in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Attorneys have been successful in litigating such lawsuits because push out practices represent a clear violation of equal protection. “Push out” policies set students up for a lifetime of failure and cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars annually. Kim, C. Y., Losen, D. J., and Hewitt, D. T. 2010. The school-to-prison pipeline: Structuring legal reform. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Who is in prison?
One out of three African American males will be incarcerated in his life time.
One out of six Latino males will be incarcerated in their his time.
Black or Latino
61% of incarcerated
population
VS.
Black or Latino
61% of U.S. Population
Source: www.supensionstories.com Note: One out of every seventeen White males will be incarcerated in his lifetime.
How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Provide better training for educators in classroom management.
Eliminate standardized tests as the indicator of school and district performance. Use a combination of factors.
How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Teach children conflict resolution skills (which also is a missing component of anti-bullying campaigns).
Create a community review board to evaluate disciplinary practices and policies and offer suggestions for improvement of the disciplinary process.
How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions.
If suspension is warranted, use in-school suspension so that students don’t fall behind in their classwork.
If expulsion is necessary, helps students locate community resources like GED programs.
How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Eliminate zero tolerance policies for minor rule violations (e.g., disrespecting others and disrupting class).
Eliminate the criminalization of school misconduct and don’t use school resource officers as enforcers.
Poem of a High School Student They tell me there’s no money for schools, but I think they’re telling me tales ‘cause Bloomberg funded our cameras, and they always got money for jails.See what they fund schools with, and then times that by more than three.And you’ll still get less than half of what they fund prisons.Huh! Wonder where they want me to be?
~Jorman Nunez, student, DeWitt Clinton High School,New York City
Franklin, V. P. (2009). Commentary: Reparations for educational malfeasance. The Journal of African American History, 94(2), 149-152.
