School To Prison Pipeline Research Paper

Education is said to be one of the most important things in life. We are told to go to school every day so that we can better ourselves and to learn something new. That is no longer the case. Education is not the topic of concern or interest anymore, now interest is being turned towards prison and funding them. The criminal justice system connects prisons to schools through a system called the school to prison pipeline. According to the American Civil liberties Union (ACLU), the school-to-prison pipeline refers to “the policies and practices that push our nation’s school children, especially our most at- risk children, out of class rooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.” The school-to prison pipeline focuses more on putting

Public schools have overcrowded classrooms, unqualified teachers, and insufficient funding for extra things. These extras include special education teachers and services, and even textbooks. The inadequate resources help increase dropout rates and disengagements. Zero tolerance policies are also a cause for the flow of children through the pipeline. Schools have embraced zero-tolerance policies that automatically impose severe punishment regardless of circumstances (ACLU). The zero-tolerance policies were adopted due to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Zero-tolerance policies have resulted in increased expulsion and suspension rates. Children are being punished harshly for disruptive behavior, bringing in nail clippers to school, or even being in the hallways during class hours. Schools with little resources rely heavily on police in the schools to enforce discipline rather than teachers, principals, counselors and administrators (ACLU). Due to police monitoring the hallways and schools children are more likely to have a school-based arrest. These arrests are usually for non-violent offenses. These school-based arrests are one of the quickest routes through the pipeline and into the criminal justice

The No Child Left Behind act was implemented in 2002. According to the National Education Budget Project, NCLB requires states to test students annually and requires states, school districts and schools to ensure that all students are proficient at grade level. The state defines what grade-level performance is and are accountable to make sure the students achieve it. The Advancement Project article “No Child Left Behind Catalyzes” states, “No Child Left Behind’s ‘get tough’ approach to accountability has led to more students being left behind, thus further feeding the dropout crisis and the School-to-Prison Pipeline”. NCLB has made schools less effective and worsened the environment. It has led to a decrease in graduation rates, and slower rates of academic improvement and of closing racial achievement gaps. The NCLB has helped contribute to the encouragement of zero-tolerance policies, record high suspension and expulsion rates, and sharp rises of school based arrests and referral of students to law