The Tug of War on School-to-prison Pipeline:
Finding Constructive Solutions vs. Imposing Strict Policies
“Is it necessary to send this child to jail at such a vulnerable age for non-violent offense?”
“What would happen to him/her in jail?”
“How are the parents holding up with their child arrested or in jail?”
These are the questions I always ask when I read or hear stories about children being arrested in schools and locked up in jails or prisons.
While I cannot even bear to think about the answers to the last two questions, the answer to the first one is crystal clear to me: Definitely not.
Children come to school to be educated, not to be sent to prisons through the School-to-prison pipeline. There are plenty of restorative or rehabilitative options to replace arrest and jail time. I am grasping tightly on this side of the rope.
Unfortunately, some lawmakers, school administrators and their supporters are holding just as tight on the other side of the rope. They argue, “These students broke the law (or school policy). They knew they would be punished when they violated the law/policy.”
To some, upholding the laws or policies is far more important than the future of the children, the agony of the parents, and the damages done to the community/society when families are broken.
Often, they never consider the dire consequences of having students arrested.
Laws are man-made – no different than what it states on the inside of some shoes. When one size of a pair of shoes cannot fit all sizes of feet. Likewise, anyone should understand that one law/policy (e.g. truancy) cannot fit all situations that cause the offense.
But no matter. The other side argues: Zero-tolerance means zero-tolerance, period.
Now let’s look at how advocates, including school officials, deal with the School-to-prison Pipeline situation recently. One end of the rope has successfully come up with solutions to reduce the number of students going through the pipeline, or eliminate it entirely. Meanwhile, the other end firmly grips on pushing students through the school-to-prison pipeline by imposing rigid laws and policies on them.
Constructive News, Solutions on Stopping School-to-Prison Pipeline
☆ Mar. 2016, Massachusetts. How a Failing School Becomes one of the Most Successful by stopping the school-to-prison pipeline
http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-10/stopping-school-prison-pipeline-heres-one-city-doing-it
☆ Dec. 2015. Stopping school-to-prison-pipeline by helping students find their passion and purpose in life
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12/18/ryan-duffy-now-what-explores-changes-in-us-education-system-to-fix-school-to-prison-pipeline-_n_8837234.html
The Future Project provides “Dream Directors” to mentor students. They empower students by unlocking their talents, and assisting them in pursuing their passion.
Dream Director Zaki Smith: “We come in to remove a lot of the disempowering norms that exist in schools.”
☆ Dec. 2015, New York. Stopping school-to-prison-pipeline by pushing for and rolling out restorative discipline to replace suspensions and expulsions
http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/a-more-tolerant-approach/34105/
☆ Dec. 2015, Florida. Stopping school-to-prison-pipeline by making new laws for smarter sentencing and rehabilitation instead of imprisonment
http://www.southdadenewsleader.com/news/curbelo-tours-south-dade-seeking-to-end-the-school-to/article_a461fc36-a4f4-11e5-acc0-dbc9b053b6d1.html
☆ Dec. 2015, South Carolina. Stopping school-to-prison-pipeline by implementing different tactics to help and keep students in school
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/12/06/police-not-schools-primary-discipline-tool/76725376/
“In Greenville County, Greenville News investigative reporter Rick Brundrett reported, there has been a 83 percent drop in expulsions between the 2006-07 school year and last year, and a 36 percent drop in out-of-school suspensions in that same time. The district attributes the changes to better administrator training and “effective use of intervention specialists, social workers, mental health counselors, early academic interventions, a drop-out prevention specialist, Positive Behavior Intervention and Support, increased emphasis on character education, stepped up anti-bullying efforts,” and changes to discipline policies.”
☆ Nov. 2015, California. Stopping school-to-prison-pipeline by having school districts use common sense and better judgment, and thus reducing number of suspensions, expulsions, arrests, and incarcerations
http://newamericamedia.org/2015/11/finally-good-news-on-the-school-to-prison-pipeline.php
☆ Nov. 2015, Minnesota. Stopping school-to-prison-pipeline by closing the achievement gap
http://www.educationdive.com/news/minneapolis-moves-to-help-dismantle-school-to-prison-pipeline/408538/
Office of Black Male Student Achievement: http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/obmsa
☆ Aug. 2015. Op-Ed: 3 Steps to Reform Our Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems
http://sparkaction.org/content/3-steps-reform-our-juvenile-justice
Destructive News on School-to-Prison Pipeline – excessive punishment, unjust treatment
☆ Dec. 2015, California. Student was arrested after hugging girlfriend – one of 30,000 arrests of minors in 9 years carried out by a school district’s own police department
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/san-bernadino-arrests_5669b21ce4b009377b24119e
☆ Dec. 2015, Tennessee. Two students were jailed for violating school’s dress code
http://www.eurweb.com/2015/12/two-tennessee-students-arrestedjailed-for-wearing-saggy-pants/
The questions are: Is dress code more valuable to be upheld than a child’s future and education? Should legislators and school admins come up with a better solution to enforce dress code than sending students to jail?
☆ Dec. 2015, Texas. Student arrested for bringing a clock to school
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/education/3897373-us-probes-texas-school-district-where-student-arrested-clock
The good news: The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the school district, “regarding both harassment and the discipline of students on the basis of race, religion and national origin.”
☆ Dec. 2015, Rhode Island. Two 8-year-olds arrested for doing nothing wrong, according to attorney, without their parents being notified
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151203/NEWS/151209689
To ensure cyber security for everyone, your comment/input will go through moderation before it is published.
The prison industrial complex has grown exponentially over the last 20 years so it’s not surprising that we’ve had disparaging increases of zero-tolerance programs that disproportionately put our most vulnerable students and our most valuable assets in jails. Prisons have become ‘big business’ and as Americans, we should all be outraged. Prisons do not rehabilitate, for the most part, they create hardened and more seasoned criminals. Now, the question is, “Why do we, as Americans who live in one of the most advanced societies in the world, send our most precious resources to places that can be damning, devastating and place them in positions of despondency and despair?” We don’t have a good answer to this question. There are way too many students/children being thrown away. Essentially, when we throw them in jail, we are telling them that we do not value them or their possible (positive) contributions.
It is up to us as educators to dig deep and look for ways, opportunities and procedures that work without ruining lives. It’s not solely our responsibility, we should also be reaching out to parents and communities, who are major stakeholders in the lives and the futures of our children.