Christian Parris 11/9/19
What can we do to combat the school to prison pipeline?
One of the biggest problems in the United States today is the amount of young minority Americans going in and out of the prison system. It’s because of increasingly harsh school and municipal policies such as school disturbance laws, zero tolerance policies and practices, and an increase in police forces in schools in creating the pipeline. The policy best known is the zero tolerance policy which is school is a strict enforcement of regulations and bans against behaviors or the possession of items deemed undesirable by the schools. This policy is enforced in many ways from suspensions to explosions which causes many kids to be exposed to the street life and end up in jail. In this essay I will be discussing what is the school to prison pipeline and in what ways can we combat the school to prison pipeline so that we can lower the prison rates.
SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE by ACLU talks about how the school to prison pipeline is created by in inequality in and the policy are just the way to enforce them. Which is why I believe we should change the policy like the zero tolerance policy and the amount of money that the schools get. In the arrival it says ”
For most students, the pipeline begins with inadequate resources in public schools. Overcrowded classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and insufficient funding for “extras” such as counselors, special education services, and even textbooks, lock students into second-rate educational environments. What this quote means is that the school down have enough funds to properly prepare the student and how that leads to more dropout because they can’t get the proper education.
According to (How High-Stakes Testing Feeds the School-to-Prison Pipeline) written by fairtest.org Standardized test to feeding the school to prison pipeline. Which was written to explain the effects of standardized testing and why it is bad, but also how it helps lead students to the school to prison pipeline. Which gives me my opinion that we should get rid of standardized testing. When research how high stakes testing affect the school to prison pipeline they found “High school exit exams (FairTest, 2008) push many thousands of students out of school. As a result of these factors, urban graduation rates decreased. Some students see no realistic option other than dropping out; some are deliberately pushed out or fail the tests.” This means that the dropout rate around the exit test increase as a result the graduation rate fell down and the dropouts are more likely to get involved with gangs and other illegal activities.
It also explains how teaching the book affects not only the student but the learning environment. The text says, “Moreover, the test-prep culture pits teachers against kids, damages school climate and reduces students’ engagement with school. This in turn fosters problem behaviors, which are then countered with zero tolerance”. What this quote means is that because the teacher has to teach to the book students are more likely to get distracted and off-topic which then leads to behavioral problems where they are counted with a zero-tolerance policy. This proves my claim that we showed get rid of the standard test because with the standard test gone kids wouldn’t stress over the school which could lead to dropping out and teachers could go off book and make lessons interesting and effective so there won’t be behavioral problems and students can actually learn.
The article (Stopping the School-to-Prison Pipeline Starts With Ending Suspensions) by Sarah Kuta a writer from Colorado who regularly write about education. Wrote this article to talk about the school to prison pipeline and how restorative justice can be an alternative. Restorative justice is an alternate method of disciplining students that seeks to balance the process between being too permissive and being too punitive. The goal of restorative justice is to work with students (the victims and the accused) to come to a solution rather than simply handing down punishment such as suspensions or expulsions. In the article says “We know that many of our students who are suspended are also the ones who don’t make it to graduation,” said David Yusem. The restorative justice coordinator for the Oakland Unified School District explains that because of the harsh punishment of the school system the people who are punished are less likely to graduate and drop out which leads them to get involved in gangs and other legal activities.
David Yusme goes on to prove that restorative justice work by watching the rate go down in school that have restorative justice the the ones without. He says “Oakland schools that have implemented restorative justice practices have seen a 56 percent decrease in dropout rates from 2010 to 2013, compared to a 17 percent decline at schools without restorative justice,according to district data.” What this means is that during the years of 2010 and 2013 they tested to see if restorative justice would have an effect on the graduation rate which it did.This proves my claim that restorative justice is a solution to the school to prison pipeline because it showed the difference between people going to regular school and a school with restorative justice and how the dropping out rate of school’s are lower with restorative justice which higher graduation rates keeping them off the streets and out of prison system.
In the article (Cops in class: Is ‘zero tolerance’ still the right approach?) By Ashley Fantz, a CNN reporter who wrote this article to inform the public about the dangerous effects of the zero tolerance policy and police getting involved in school matters. Which is why I bolive another way to combat the school to prison pipeline is that they should make the police should be the last resort in handling a matter and change. Because of policies like the zero tolerance which was introduced by the former president Ronald Reagan which was first made to target gangs and drugs in schools back in the days. When police or security is called to deal with student acting out they are required to treat the situation like they were dealing with adults which not only means to arrest them but use force. In an article by Ashley Fantz, CNN she gives a few examples of police using to much force on minors “In May, sheriff’s deputies use pepper spray to break up a fight at a Naples, Florida, high school. Three students are arrested and 21 students need medical care.” What this show is the negative effect of the policy because police are called in they use the same amount of power as if they were dealing with a real criminal. This leads to many problems not only physical problems but mental problems and they are most likely to end up in an even worse situation when they get older.
Another example she gives is on why not to use police is In March 2015, when “New York Police Department safety agents ask a student to remove safety pins holding his glasses together. When the student refuses, the officers reportedly tackle and arrest him.” This shows the police have no training when Handling young kids because what was said that really happen was after the took the safety pin he try to reach for his glasses and tackled him to the ground. Where his elbow accidently hit on of the officer in the eye. I believe this source is worth listening too because it gives more than two great examples as to why policy like the zero tolerance policy has a negative impact on the school system.
In conclusion I believe the school to prison pipeline does exist and there are many ways to combat it a few ways are Make police the last resort, Restorative justice, and get rid of standardized testing. People should care about this topic because it affects the minority groups in the United States.
Fantz, Ashley. “Zero Tolerance Policies and School Cops – CNN.” CNN, Google, 29 Oct. 2015, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2015/10/29/us/police-schools-punishment-zero-tolerance/index.html.
“How Testing Feeds the School-to-Prison Pipeline.” FairTest, 28 Mar. 2010, https://www.fairtest.org/how-testing-feeds-schooltoprison-pipeline.
Kuta, Sarah. “Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline Starts With Getting Rid of School Suspensions.” School Leaders Now, 29 Oct. 2019, https://schoolleadersnow.weareteachers.com/end-school-suspensions/.
“School-to-Prison Pipeline.” American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline.
