School-Prison-Pipeline
NEW YORK'S SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE
Stop the criminization of our youth.

About

Throughout the past several decades, disciplinary and security measures in generally low-income, minority neighborhoods have become harsher and more prison-like. Over 5,000 school safety agents are stationed in New York City schools. These agents have the authority to make warrantless arrests, carry and use handcuffs, and can use physical or deadly force on students in situations they deem necessary. The safety agents located in the schools answer to the police, not to the principal or administration. Many of these schools possess metal detectors and often search students before entering the buildings.

Harsh punishments such as lengthy suspensions or expulsion are common for minor infractions in these low-income schools. This is known as the Zero Tolerance Policy and is especially enforced on students of color and other minorities. This creates the incentive for teachers to choose whom to educate – and to remove the rest. Additionally, difficult standardized tests separate students based on perceived ability leaving many students without room to grow.

The prison-like security and severe punishments create an environment of mistrust of students in the administration. Students who miss school fall behind academically and often are forced into the criminal justice system as their school’s have given up on them. This disproportionately affects black,brown, and other minority students. The school to prison pipeline is a deep rooted issue. The police and security in schools are paid with money that could go to social workers, guidance counselors, mental health professionals, or to build recreation facilities, all resources to help students. The criminalization of youth must end by taking police out of schools. If you treat young people like they are criminals it encourages them to become criminals. The cycle will only end with investment into these schools and the students as a whole.

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Who this is effecting

Data from across the U.S. that illustrates punishment and school-related arrests show that the racial disparity in incarceration begins with the school-to-prison pipeline. Research shows that both schools with large Black populations and underfunded schools, many of which are majority-minority schools, are more likely to employ zero tolerance policies. Nationwide, Black and American Indian students face far greater rates of suspension and expulsion than do white students. In addition, data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics show that while the percentage of white students suspended fell from 1999 to 2007, the percentage of Black and Hispanic students suspended rose. According to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, about 5 percent of white students have been suspended during their schooling experience, compared with 16 percent of Black students. This means Black students are more than three times as likely to be suspended than their white peers. Though they comprise just 16 percent of the total enrollment of public school students, Black students comprise 32 percent of in-school suspensions and 33 percent of out-of-school suspensions. Given that there is a connection between the experience of suspensions and engagement with the criminal justice system, and given that racial bias within education and among police is well-documented, it is no surprise that Black and Latino students comprise 70 percent of those who face referral to law enforcement or school-related arrests. The racism embedded in the school-to-prison pipeline is a significant factor in producing the reality that Black and Latino students are far less likely than their white peers to complete high school and that Black, Latino, and American Indian people are much more likely than white people to end up in jail or prison. -Ninety percent of arrests and summonses in schools are of black or Hispanic students, a percentage that’s in excess of their representation within the system, where they make up just shy of 70 percent of students.

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Long term effects

The American Psychological Association has found that the practice of common suspensions and expulsions, harms academic achievement for all students in the school. Other research shows students who miss class due to serving out a punishment have increased chances of passing fewer classes, being held back, and overall becoming involved with the juvenile and criminal justice systems. If students miss school they have lower odds at graduating thus limiting their opportunities at further education and many jobs. Additionally, strict disciplinary measures can harm a students mental health by possibly giving them low self-confidence,a mindset that they are not capable, or by not addressing possible mental health disorders.

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Legislation

The passage of the Student Safety Act: first-of-its kind legislation that mandates the DOE and NYPD to publicly report the number of arrests and suspension in school. Amendments to strengthen reporting and transparency were passed in 2015. Secured $2.4 million from the New York City Council for investment in a citywide Restorative Justice Initiative

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Some Organizations Trying to help

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