School to Prison Pipeline

The School to Prison Pipeline

by Ericka Foster

The school to prison pipeline describes a series of policies and techniques that hinders the education of young people while funneling them into the criminal justice system. Those policies were designed to be “tough on crime”, but in the end push young people into the criminal justice systems. Those same policies disproportionately affect marginalized groups – children of color (particularly boys), students with disabilities, and members of the LGBT+ communities. While black children made up 16 percent of all enrolled children in 2011-12, according to federal data, they accounted for 31 percent of all in-school arrests. Students with disabilities are also suspended more frequently than students without disabilities. As you can see from the table below, Black and Indigenous children are more likely to receive out-of-school suspension.

US Department of Education

To address the fear of more school shootings, zero-tolerance policies and in school police officers were implemented. The Gun-Free Schools Act, passed in 1994, mandated a yearlong out-of-school suspension for any student caught bringing a weapon to school. Those zero tolerance policies send children home for minor infractions. That time spent out of school puts students further behind in their education. When children can’t keep up, they lose interest and can become more disruptive. In a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, they state that suspension and expulsion may make it harder for children to get an education. Without adequate support, “student alienation, delinquency, crime, and substance abuse may ensue.”

In addition to zero tolerance policies, schools are employing police officers. These aren’t security guards, these are school resource officers (SROs) -- actual police officers that have the authority to make arrests. Although SROs were implemented to prevent Columbine-like shootings, the officers are more likely to make arrests for offenses such as talking back, these arrests give children a direct line into the criminal justice system.

Many schools – particularly in lower income communities – suffer from a lack of resources. One of the results of lack of resources if overcrowding, causing administrators to ‘crack down’ on disruptions in an overly crowded classroom. Providing a valuable education with a lack of resources is a real challenge.

However, schools across the country are looking for creative ways to maintain discipline – focusing on good discipline instead of easy discipline. Some schools implement Conscious Discipline – trauma informed social and emotional learning -which gives adults techniques to help children feel emotionally safe as well as identify and verbalize their feelings. Other techniques include non-punitive reactions, reflective, and restorative interventions.