This document discusses the school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to policies that disproportionately affect minority students and push them out of school and into the criminal justice system. It provides statistics showing that black, Latino, and other minority students are much more likely to face suspensions, expulsions, arrests at school and not graduate compared to white students. The document also examines factors that contribute to the pipeline, such as zero-tolerance policies, an overemphasis on standardized testing, and the criminalization of minor misconduct at school. It concludes by offering recommendations for disrupting the pipeline, such as improving teacher training, eliminating zero-tolerance policies, and reducing suspensions and expulsions.

1. The School-To-Prison Pipeline
Kimberly D. Dodson, Ph.D.
Western Illinois University
School of LEJA

2. School-to-Prison Pipeline
The school-to-prison
pipeline refers to policies
and practices that push
ch ildr en , es peci al ly
minorities, out of schools
and into the juvenile and
criminal justice systems.

3. Why is Zero Tolerance 100% Unequal?
Why is zero tolerance 100% unequal?
See the video below:

4. Who is being funneled
into the pipeline?
• Black, Hispanic or
Latino, Asian, or
Bi-racial students;
• English language
learners;
• Physically or
developmentally
disabled;
Learning disabled;
Gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgendered
students;
Undocumented
youth; and
Homeless or foster
care children.

5. Who is being funneled
into the pipeline?
Gone Too Far: Our Kids in Handcuffs
See the video below:

6. Who is being funneled
into the pipeline?
Jahbriel Morris and 7
other students were
arrested for events
relating to a water
balloon fight at Enloe
High School in Raleigh,
NC.

7. Who is being funneled
into the pipeline?
Instead of reprimanding
the tormentors, school
officials targeted the boy
for wiretapping—and he
was later convicted of
disorderly conduct by a
district judge.
A 15-year old boy with
ADHD, comprehension
delay disorder, and an
anxiety disorder recorded
classmates bullying him in
school.
What happens next may
surprise you.

8. Students of Color Face Harsher Discipline and are
More Likely to be Pushed Out than Whites
Of students EXPELLED from
U.S. schools each year are
Black.
Of students involved in “in-
school arrest” or referred to
the police are Black or Latino.
Black students are three and
half times more likely to be
SUSPENDED than Whites.
40%
70%
3.5 X
Source: www.supensionstories.com

9. What are the factors that contribute
to the school-to-prison pipeline?
Test Prep Culture
The No Child Left Behind
Act utilizes standardized test
scores to determine the overall
performance of the school or
district.
Schools participate in “push
out” policies to “reshape” the
testing pool.

10. What are the factors that contribute
to the school-to-prison pipeline?
Zero tolerance policies take
away discretion.
Any violation, no matter how
minor, will result in
suspension, expulsion, and/or
arrest.
Violations are no longer
examined on a case-by-case
basis but a “one-size-fits-all”
model.
Zero-Tolerance Policies

11. What are the factors that contribute
to the school-to-prison pipeline?
Suspensions and Expulsions
Poor performing students
received longer suspensions
or more expulsions than better
performing students.
The “punishment gap” grew
significantly during test
administration periods, which
suggest that schools resort to
selective discipline to exclude
poor performing students
from the testing pool.

12. What are the factors that contribute
to the school-to-prison pipeline?
School-based arrests double the
odds that students will drop out of
school, when coupled with a court
appearance, the odds of dropping
out quadruple.
School based arrests lower job
prospects and increase the
likelihood of future contacts with
the criminal justice system.
Criminalization of School Misconduct

13. Who is graduating from high school?
Black and Latino students are
twice as likely TO NOT
GRADUATE high school as
Whites.
Of all males in state and
federal PRISON do not have
a high school DIPLOMA.
2 x
68%
Source: www.supensionstories.com

14. Why should school
administrators care?
If school officials are effectively denying
minority students educational access, they are in
violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Attorneys have been successful in litigating such
lawsuits because push out practices represent a
clear violation of equal protection.
“Push out” policies set students up for a lifetime
of failure and cost U.S. taxpayers billions of
dollars annually.
Kim, C. Y., Losen, D. J., and Hewitt, D. T. 2010. The school-to-prison pipeline: Structuring legal reform. New
York, NY: New York University Press.

15. Who is in prison?
One out of three African American
males will be incarcerated in his life
time.
One out of six Latino males will be
incarcerated in their his time.
Black or Latino
61%
of incarcerated
population
VS.
Black or Latino
61%
of U.S. Population
Source: www.supensionstories.comNote: One out of every seventeen White
males will be incarcerated in his lifetime.

16. How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Provide better training for
educators in classroom
management.
Eliminate standardized
tests as the indicator of
school and district
performance. Use a
combination of factors.

17. How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Teach children conflict
resolution skills (which also
is a missing component of
anti-bullying campaigns).
Create a community review
board to evaluate
disciplinary practices and
policies and offer
suggestions for improvement
of the disciplinary process.

18. How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Reduce the number of
suspensions and expulsions.
If suspension is warranted,
use in-school suspension so
that students don’t fall
behind in their classwork.
If expulsion is necessary,
helps students locate
community resources like
GED programs.

19. How can we disrupt the pipeline?
Eliminate zero tolerance
policies for minor rule
violations (e.g.,
disrespecting others and
disrupting class).
Eliminate the
criminalization of school
misconduct and don’t use
school resource officers as
enforcers.

20. Poem of a High School Student
They tell me there’s no money for schools, but I think they’re telling me tales
‘cause Bloomberg funded our cameras, and they always got money for jails.
See what they fund schools with, and then times that by more than three.
And you’ll still get less than half of what they fund prisons.
Huh! Wonder where they want me to be?
~Jorman Nunez, student, DeWitt Clinton High School,
New York City
Franklin, V. P. (2009). Commentary: Reparations for educational malfeasance. The Journal of African
American History, 94(2), 149-152.