The School-to-Prison Pipeline
How does one get funneled from the classroom to the courtroom? The School-to-Prison Pipeline is the latest injustice that is being thrust upon young people of marginalized backgrounds.
It is perpetuated by zero-tolerance policies, low community engagement, concentrated disadvantage, resource distribution based on income, and the influx of police on school campuses.
The pipeline begins when young people face adversity in early life and lack of resources to buffer stress. As a result, they are more likely to have behavioral issues and learning challenges. Once in school, these issues are typically addressed through punishment-based practices such as detention, suspension, and expulsion.
These programs are inherently isolating and ineffective when it comes to behavior modification. Both the community and the student would be much better served if the student received counseling and mental health support instead, especially when it comes to the long term health of the student.
Unfortunately, public school districts are overburdened and counselors, when available, are only used for education as opposed to psychosocial treatment. School administrations are left with no choice other than to use outdated methods of punishment which force young people into environments that are distanced from their peer groups, unconducive to learning, and often leave them at an unstable home that further adds to their stress and anxiety.
Students in this position tend to get involved in activities that provide an outlet for their frustration where they can at least feel productive. These activities are often illicit; an unsupervised middle school-aged kid from an underprivileged neighborhood is not going to independently find gainful employment or a productive hobby.
So these students, having been kicked out of the one place in their lives that could’ve offered structure and guidance, now might commit small crimes that leave them in a cycle of juvenile detention, or get tried as an adult and left to fend for themselves in an already oppressive justice system.
