The Schoolto Prison Pipeline SchooltoPrison Pipeline A system

The School-to. Prison Pipeline

School-to-Prison Pipeline • A system of laws, policies, and practices that pushes students out of schools and into the juvenile and criminal systems • An over-reliance on school suspension to manage behavior • A willingness to view adolescent misbehavior as criminal activity

Where does the pipeline begin? In elementary school! • Short-term suspension in NC schools, by year • Long-term suspensions in NC schools, by year

North Carolina statistics • 2012 -13 • 750, 000 school days lost to suspension from school • 248, 000 short-term suspensions (1 -10 days) • 1, 423 long-term suspensions (more than 10 days) • 37 permanent expulsions • Overall rate: • 1 in 11 students suspended • In high school, 1 in 8

Who is in the pipeline? • Students more likely than others to be in the school-to-prison pipeline: • Start behind on social and academic skills due to limited enrichment from birth – age 5 • Have continued poor academic achievement, often having been retained in at least one grade • Have been raised in a low-income, singleparent household • Have no or limited family history of post-

Racial disparities in school suspension percentage of black students suspended 17% 83% suspende d not suspende d percentage of white students suspended 5% 95% suspende d not suspende d

Disability disparities in school suspensions General population 12% 88% Suspended students Students with disabilities Students without disabilities 26% 74% Students with disabilities Students without disabilities

How do students move through the pipeline? • As an affected student misses more school and feels the sting of rejection and “unfairness, ” misbehavior gets worse, not better • Student may begin skipping school to avoid negative interactions and embarrassment of poor academic achievement • Student begins engaging in unlawful community behavior, such as vandalism, theft, etc. • Student may connect with gangs or other excluded

Policing in schools • School resource officers (SROs) are law enforcement officers permanently assigned to work in schools • Nearly all high schools in the state have at least one SRO • Two-thirds of middle schools have at least one SRO • 20 percent of elementary schools have an SRO

School Resource Officers • Steady increase in the number of SROs in schools • Can create an atmosphere of hostility and control rather than safety and support • More SROs result in more school-related behaviors becoming juvenile and criminal offenses

School-based offenses/juvenile complaints • 46% of all juvenile complaints are the result of schoolbased offenses (students under age 16). • Top three delinquent offenses: • Simple assault • Misdemeanor larceny • Disorderly conduct at school • No data are kept on how many 16 and 17 -year-olds have criminal charges for school-based offenses, but anecdotally, we know it is a high number

Disability disparities in arrests • At least one in three juveniles arrested has a disability • Students with disabilities are three times more likely to be arrested before leaving high school than the general population. * • *Source: The Hechinger Report, Oct. 26, • 2014 “ Pipeline to Prison: Special Education Too Often Leads to Jail for Thousands of American Children” • Students with emotional disabilities tend to be more impulsive, less able to problem-solve, and less able to manage emotions, resulting in aggressive or other disorderly behaviors

Evidence about school suspensions • For individuals students, school suspension is linked to: • Poor academic achievement, both short term & long term • Lasting disconnection between suspended student and school • Increased truancy and future misbehavior • Increased risk of later incarceration • Difficult to find evidence that suspension reduces misbehavior; higher rates of suspension do not correlate with safer, more orderly

Reversing the Pipeline • Commitment to Change • Prevention • Intervention • Alternatives

Suspend fewer children Long-term suspension trend in NC is declining 6, 000 5, 000 4, 000 3, 000 2, 000 13 20 12 - 12 20 11 - 11 20 10 - 10 20 09 - 09 20 08 - 08 20 07 - 06 20 05 - 04 20 03 - 01 20 00 - 19 99 - 00 0

Change the law • 2011 – N. C. General Assembly revised the state law on school discipline • Left discipline primarily in the discretion of local school boards, but – • Made zero tolerance approach unlawful • Requires the consider mitigating circumstances • Requires that long-term suspensions be restricted to serious violations of board policy • Encourages use of alternatives to suspension • Spelled out “due process” procedures

Change local policies • School boards can limit the authority of principals and the superintendent to impose suspensions in certain circumstances • Examples – • No suspension from elementary school • No suspension on first offense • No suspension until certain interventions are tried • No suspension for longer than 30 days • No suspension for certain offenses (i. e. , disrespect, disobedience) • No court referrals for most school offenses

Prevention strategies • Engage students in academics • Support & train staff in behavior management, cultural competency • Implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support • Reduce class size • Make social, emotional, and behavioral education a regular part of school • Engage parents

Interventions • Student support teams • Mentoring & counseling • Social work services • Substance abuse intervention • Personal Education Plans • Effective IEPs for students with disabilities

Alternatives • • • Mediation Restorative justice Restitution Community service Effective alternative schools • Effective in-school alternative learning centers

Support efforts to “Raise the Age” • North Carolina is the only state in the United States that always treats 16 and 17 year olds as adults in the criminal justice system • Deprives 16 & 17 year olds of the “rehabilitative” aspects of juvenile system • Deprives 16 & 17 year olds of the confidentiality of the juvenile system (giving them public criminal records) • Results in incarceration in adult jails

Learn more • Youth Justice North Carolina -http: //youthjusticenc. org/ • Watch the documentary: “North Carolina’s School to Prison Pipeline” • NC Child -- Raise the Age http: //www. ncchild. org/what -children-need/juvenile-