What is the “School to Prison Pipeline?”

by Kebron & Jenny

LCTA Changemakers supports the ACLU’s (American Civil Liberties Union) commitment to end “school-to-prison pipeline.” What is the “school to prison pipeline?” That’s a good question. It’s a trend where low-performing children or children with behavior problems are “funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.”  These aren’t bad kids, many of them are just poor, have learning disabilities, are neglected or abused and just need help, not to be punished or pushed out of their school and sent to jail! 

“Zero-tolerance” policies turn children into criminals for breaking school rules. Schools who use these policies automatically punish children for breaking a school rule, regardless of circumstances. Black and brown students are usually the ones who suffer the most due to these policies pushing them into the “pipeline” and into the juvenile justice system. Black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than White students, while Black and Latino students account for 70 percent of police referrals.

According to an article, “The School to Prison Pipeline: Time to Shut it Down” published by the NEA (National Education Association), “in 2010, more than 3 million students were suspended from school, or double the level of suspensions in the 1970s. Meanwhile, more than a quarter-million were “referred” to police officers for misdemeanor tickets, very often for offenses that once would have elicited a stern talking-to.” As a result, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered school districts to respond to student misbehavior in “fair, non-discriminatory, and effective” ways. Alexandria City Public Schools does not use “Zero-tolerance” policies, but some of the practices still exist, mainly due to the implicit bias against black and brown students within the school community.

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