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21 Dec 2015
Blog Post

Zero Tolerance and Bias Reinforce the School-to-Prison Pipeline

In the name of making our schools safe havens, districts have adopted zero-tolerance policies, increased school policing, and driven some of our most vulnerable students out of school and into a judicial system often built for punishment rather than support: the school-to-prison pipeline.

Zero-tolerance policies make it more likely that students will be arrested, suspended, or expelled for behavior that does not threaten school safety. Add to that biases and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity, and at-risk young people can end up alienated from their schools, in trouble with the police and juvenile courts, and in danger of long-term economic and social dysfunction.

Consider three recent cases:

  • In a highly publicized case, Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was arrested at his Texas school when security staff mistook his homemade clock for a bomb. His parents pulled him out of the school and moved to Qatar.
  • Jewlyes Gutierrez, a transgender California student, experienced years of bullying because of her gender identity. After fighting back with four students in her school, Jewlyes was charged with battery while the students who bullied her received school suspensions. 
  • A Black high school student in South Carolina who refused to leave her classroom was violently thrown from her seat and restrained by a school police officer who has since been suspended.

The disproportionate impact of this school-to-prison pipeline on youth of color is well-documented. Data show that Black students are suspended from school at a rate three times that of White students. While Black students represent about 16 percent of student enrollment, they account for 27 percent of students referred to law enforcement and 31 percent of students who experience a school-related arrest.

Racial Disparities in School Discipline Infographic

As a recent GSA Network report notes, researchers have also found that youth of color who are also lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQ) report experiencing harsh school discipline, biased application of school policy, and increased targeting for surveillance and policing by school staff. Many also report being blamed for their own victimization.

Schools bring in law enforcement to keep students safe and improve the school environment, but a 2013 report written by AIR explores how this response is ineffective and how it can worsen disciplinary and school safety issues. Other research from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that incarcerating juveniles does not make communities safer.

Students who are arrested and expelled or suspended from school are often left unsupervised and engage in negative behaviors. Juvenile detention involvement can lead to decreased odds of graduating from high school and to increased odds of suffering abuse and additional trauma, reoffending as adults, and being sexually exploited.

How do we eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline? The Supportive School Discipline Initiative, launched in 2011 by the Department of Education and the Justice Department, is a start. It aims to make school discipline more equitable in three ways, by:

  1. Fostering school climates that engage all students in learning by preventing problem behaviors.
  2. Keeping expectations and consequences clear and appropriate.
  3. Ensuring equity and continuous improvement in disciplinary policies and practices.

The initiative’s school discipline guidance package, released in 2014, recommends that states, districts, and schools coordinate their efforts to address the school-to-prison pipeline for LGBTQ youth and youth of color. Recommended practices include:

  • Training staff, engaging families and community partners, and deploying resources to help students develop the social, emotional, and conflict-resolution skills needed to avoid and de-escalate problems.
  • Holding students accountable for their actions in developmentally appropriate ways to teach them responsibility, respect, and acceptable behavior in and out of school.
  • Using suspension and expulsion only as a last resort and for serious infractions, and equipping staff with alternative strategies to address problem behaviors while engaging all students in instruction to the greatest extent possible.
  • Ensuring fairness and equity for all students through continuous data-driven evaluation of the impact of discipline policies and practices on students.

Another more recent complementary Department of Education publication, Addressing the Root Causes of Disparities in School Discipline an Educator’s Action Planning Guide, provides tools to help schools and districts identify the root causes of exclusionary discipline and discipline disparities.

Schools must be places of safety and support for all students. Re-evaluating zero-tolerance policies, training staff to deal with non-threatening but disruptive student behavior, and working to eliminate bias can go a long way to ending the school-to-prison pipeline.

David Osher is an AIR vice president and Institute Fellow. He is also principal investigator for The National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected and Delinquent Children and Youth.                       

Don't miss the follow-up to this blog, "New Year's Resolution for Policymakers: End Zero Tolerance," by Peter Cookson.

Related Centers

Center

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE)

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments provides a range of resources and expertise on emotional and physical safety, bullying, cyberbullying, substance use prevention, crisis response, and building trauma-sensitive schools. AIR has developed several guides and training products to support stakeholders in building and promoting safe and supportive learning environments.
Center

National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth

The National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth serves as a national resource center to provide direct assistance to states, schools, communities and parents seeking information on the education of children and youth who are considered neglected, delinquent, or at risk. The education and transition of youth involved in the juvenile justice system is a primary focus of the Center.

Related Work

24 Jul 2015
Spotlight

exclusionary-discipline.jpg

teenager talks about exclusionary discipline

Exclusionary School Discipline

Recently experts from across the nation convened at the White House to discuss best practices that foster safe, supportive, and productive learning environments that keep kids in school and out of the juvenile justice system. A planning guide aimed at promoting positive school climates and ending disparities in administering student discipline, Addressing the Root Causes of Disparities in School Discipline, An Educator’s Guide, developed and written by AIR experts, was released at the event.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, School Discipline
22 Jul 2015
Video

exclusionary-discipline.jpg

teenager talks about exclusionary discipline

Young People Speak Out About Exclusionary School Discipline

AIR experts David Osher and Sandra Williamson were at the White House this week speaking at the national convening to "Rethink School Discipline." In this video from an earlier event, we hear from students themselves.
Topic: 
Education, School Climate and Safety, School Discipline, Social and Emotional Learning, Juvenile Justice
9 Sep 2013
Report

Roundtable: The Perspectives of Youth Affected by Exclusionary School Discipline

Exclusionary school discipline policies once instituted to prevent serious infractions have crept into discipline practices for minor issues. Youth who participated in a roundtable on the subject contend that it limits opportunities to learn and compromises academic achievement; is applied disproportionately and subjectively; and deprives students of the support services they need.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, School Discipline, Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice
23 Dec 2015
Blog Post

New Year's Resolution for Policymakers: End Zero Tolerance

Zero tolerance policies were born out of fear and even desperation. After the 1999 school shootings in Colorado, some educators and public figures adopted a tough law-and-order stance; but, instead of deterrence, we got a discipline regime of mass suspensions. In this blog post, AIR's Peter Cookson argues that zero tolerance discipline and other failed, counter-productive policies should disappear into the void.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, School Climate and Safety, School Discipline

Further Reading

  • Exclusionary School Discipline
  • New Year's Resolution for Policymakers: End Zero Tolerance
  • Advancing School Discipline Reform
  • Keeping Young People Out of Prison and in the Classroom
  • Roundtable: The Perspectives of Youth Affected by Exclusionary School Discipline
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David Osher

David Osher

Vice President and Institute Fellow

Topic

Education
School Climate and Safety
School Discipline
Social and Emotional Learning

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