The NAACP Legal Defense Fund defines the school-to-prison pipeline as the “funneling of students out of school and into the streets and the juvenile correction system.” This cycle deprives, “children and youth of meaningful opportunities for education, future employment, and participation in our democracy”. This phenomena mainly harms Black and Latinx children, who are treated differently than their White counterparts. In schools Black boys are suspended at the highest rates than any other group and children as young as 6 are punished harshly for common place insubordination or subjective acts (tantrums, talking back, cursing, etc). Black and Latinx students are also suspended or expelled 3.5 times more than White students. 

The relation between public school funding and the prison industrial complex

The school-to-prison pipeline is an extension of the prison industrial complex, where individuals, especially poor and/or people of color are given harsh sentences for non-violent offenses. Between the 1970s and 1990s, both Democrats and Republicans, in response to rising crime rates, became “tough on crime”. Many schools followed suit by creating no tolerance policies, in the hopes that schools would be able to stop children’s bad behavior before they choose illegal activity. 

There are several factors that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, but we will focus on the most pernicious: court referrals, suspensions and expulsions, and police officers on campus. Court referrals are the primary factor in students becoming first time offenders. Students that engage in violent and non-violent crime are given referrals, which recommend persecution or investigation. The US juvenile justice system is not equipped to handle non-violent offenses. Suspension and expulsion are overused practices within the school system that are correlated to high drop-out rates. Police officers on campuses feed directly into the school-to-prison pipeline. Schools with a police presence on campus make 5 times as many arrests for disorderly conduct than schools without police. Police officers also tend to man-handle and brutalize students for not complying with their orders. 

Infographic addressing Police brutality in school

Solving the school-to-prison pipeline will not be easy, but it is possible. In my opinion, I think the education system needs to be reformed. We should focus on fostering a nurturing and safe environment that involves parents and outside resources such as counselors as well as training staff properly. Schools should use disciplinary methods that keep children within the school system, rather than sending them home. The police presence should greatly decrease, if not be dissolved on campuses. 

In 36 Oakland, CA schools, they are combating the school-to-prison pipeline using those same methods and restorative justice. In the 2013-14 school year in the Oakland Unified School District, Black students were suspended 10 times as much as White students. They wanted to find alternative methods to common punitive punishments. Restorative justice (RJ) is the act of building a community and environment that is “conductive to learning”. Curriculums made with RJ promote civic, social, and financial literacy. It is based on Indigenous practices of community building and conflict resolution. RJ focuses on the needs of the victim and offender rather than punitive measures. They use the RJ circle, a place in which all participants can be vulnerable and honest, to handle disputes. Although it is not perfect, the country needs to follow the footsteps of schools that are changing the way they discipline students to end the cycle of the school-to-prison pipeline.