School 2 Prison

Kebron Moges
Civic Engagement Final

ENGL-1010
Reforming School Discipline to Help Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline
As our prisons continue to overfill and become more inhumane, we must find a solution
to slow down the amount of crime occurring. Before we become adults, we spend thirteen years
in school, meaning teachers have a lifelong impact on their students since they help mold the
youth. I find this issue important because I’ve been able to see the effects of the current
disciplinary methods in the kids, I grew up with in my hometown Dayton. Seeing my nine-year-
old brother receive harsher treatment than his white peers concerns me especially when he was
punished for only defending himself and the other kid didn’t face any repercussions. When
focusing on the school to prison pipeline and how to stop it, the first thing we can look at is
disciplinary reform while concentrating on providing more resources and money to schools.
When we zero in on students with bad behavior it’s important to focus on why and where
the behavior is coming from. There are many different factors that can disrupt a child’s
development which can directly affect their mental health and the way they communicate or
socialize with others. “Studies have shown a clear relationship between youth victimization and
problems later in life, including mental health problems, substance abuse, impaired social
relationships, victimization as an adult, and suicide. There also appears to be a significant
relationship between victimization and later delinquency and perpetration of violence. For
example, both the National Survey of Adolescents and the Adolescent Health Survey showed
that victimized youth were much more likely to be juvenile offenders than their non-victimized
peers, and the difference was especially notable for violent offenders (OVC, 1999; Kilpatrick,
Saunders, & Smith, 2003; Wood et al., 2002; Wordes & Nunez, 2002; Siegfried, 2007). There
are a number of experts who believe trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms can
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ENGL-1010
contribute to aggressive behavior while fear, high arousal, and hypervigilance sustained by
victimized youth can steer them to misinterpret the behavior of others as confrontational or
threatening causing them to respond with aggression. “Youth who feel that society cannot protect
them may develop aggressive or violent methods to protect themselves” (Siegfried, 2007).
Understanding why students act with aggression can lead us in the right path to improve
disciplinary methods and stopping the school to prison pipeline.
The way schools handle disruptive behavior has always been controversial and has never
been perfect. Today disciplinary reform is vastly needed to help ensure our youth receive second
chances and the proper resources to deal with the real reason they are being disruptive. “Schools
suspend roughly three and a half million kids a year and refer a quarter of a million children to
the police each year. And the patterns are even more troubling for children of color--particularly
boys--and for students with disabilities (Duncan, 2005). With that being said, it’s important to
notice that “more than two-thirds of state prison inmates are high school dropouts (Duncan,
2005). By using suspensions and expulsions as a disciplinary method, you’re setting the student
up for failure and simply giving up on them. According to the DC Lawyers for Youth’s report,
“students who are suspended from the classroom show weaker academic skills, higher dropout
rates, and higher rates of involvement with the juvenile justice system.” If a child acts up, its
important to discuss why and what caused them to behave that way. Simply asking how they are,
what’s going on at home or outside of school can lead to discovering the real issue. ““Nearly two
decades of a "zero tolerance" mentality has contributed dramatically to a spike in exclusionary
discipline that involves racial disparities, youth and civil rights advocates say. It has led to what
they call a "school-to-prison pipeline." (Khadaroo, 2013).”” According to Russell Skiba’s study
on discipline data, African-Americans still had 1.5 times higher rates of suspension or expulsion
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ENGL-1010
than whites did, and the characteristics of the schools themselves made a big difference. For
example, students in schools with a high proportion of black students (not just urban, but
suburban schools as well) were nearly six times more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions
than students in schools with low black populations, the study found (Khadaroo, 2013).
The past two decades have been frightening with all the school shootings occurring,
which initially helped establish the relationship between schools and cops. Although this led to
stricter rules and disciplinary methods, it’s no excuse for the rise in suspensions, expulsions and
detentions. As reported by the DC lawyers for Youth “higher rates of suspension and expulsion
do not increase school safety or academic performance for the rest of the student body. A key
assumption of many disciplinary policies is that troublemakers need to be removed from school
in order to provide a safe learning environment for the remaining students. However, a review of
quantitative research conducted by the American Psychological Association found that more
frequent usage of suspension and expulsion was associated with lower academic achievement
across the school’s entire student body, even when controlling for demographic factors and
socioeconomic status.” Furthermore, I was unable to find any evidence that defends disciplinary
policies in regard to school suspensions, detentions and expulsions. “A school shooter with a gun
isn’t the same as a child starting a fight or being disruptive in class. Also, this past October in
Oregon, Coach Keanon Lowe was able to disarm a school shooter with a hug while reassuring
the shooter he was there for him and understood. This further defends my point that violent
behavior can be a cry for help and mis-understanding. By speaking to troubled students, it
reminds them their feelings are valid and that someone’s there to listen, not punish them.
The lack of funding and support in schools and disadvantaged communities has created
more crime, a rise in incarceration rates and money spent on taxes and prisons. By removing
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ENGL-1010
students from traditional classrooms to alternative programs, we’re leading them straight to the
prison system especially disabled and African American students. Disciplinary reform is much
needed in our school systems to help reduce crime rates, drop outs, drug abuse, teen pregnancies
and more. According to research, “a ten percent increase in high school graduation rates would
reduce murder and assault arrest rates by approximately twenty percent. And a one percent
increase in male graduation rates would save up to $1.4 billion in the social costs of incarceration
(Duncan, 2005).” Getting rid of detention, school/in-school suspensions and expulsions for
minor offenses is necessary. Kicking a student out of class doesn’t resolve any issue and makes
the student fall behind causing them to become disinterested with school and possibly fail. This
applies with suspensions, detentions and expulsions; if a student is ordered to miss a week of
school, they can’t make up the missed work, putting them further behind in class thus adding
frustration to an already difficult situation. “In 2011, the Council of State Governments Justice
Center and the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University released their
Breaking Schools’ Rules report, which examined the relationship between school discipline and
student achievement. This rigorous empirical study analyzed data for nearly 1 million Texas
students, following them from seventh grade through the following six years. The study found
that students who had been suspended or expelled were twice as likely to repeat a grade and
almost three times as likely to be referred to the juvenile justice system the following year. These
research results are echoed in a variety of studies showing that students excluded from school for
disciplinary reasons are more likely than their unsanctioned peers to receive poor grades, commit
future disciplinary violations, drop out, and be referred to the juvenile justice system.”
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ENGL-1010
Encouraging good behavior is extremely important in schools but we need to recognize
that current disciplinary methods cause consequential negative effects to our youth. Establishing
afterschool programs, in-school interventions, better resources and providing real professionals
in mental health and child psychology can be more effective than the current disciplinary
methods. When a student causes issues, sending them to someone they can talk to will help them
understand where their emotions are coming from. Additionally, afterschool programs can help
continue the progress and it’ll provide a safe place after school for the youth to hang and do
homework. The Education Department reported that “statistics show that most juvenile crime is
committed between the hours of 2 and 8 p.m., with most crime taking place shortly after school
lets out. After-school programs can provide safe havens; help children develop relationships with
caring adults, and help young people acquire new skills, broaden their education, receive
tutoring, study art and music and perform community service.” Also, the Every Student Every
Day Coalition stated “school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a
program which has been implemented in over 16,000 US schools. PBIS utilizes a three-tier
structure of universal supports and targeted interventions to produce decreased levels of problem
behavior and increased perception of school safety. Related approaches include professional
development for teachers and school administrators focused on classroom management and
effective school discipline and social-emotional practices designed to improve student
engagement in classroom activities.” Another alternative to current disciplinary methods is
restorative practices, sometimes referred as restorative justice. As reported by “the International
Institute for Restorative Practices, the restorative justice framework engages all key stakeholders
to hold the offender accountable, repair the harm done to the victim, and facilitate the offender’s
reintegration into the community. In the school discipline context, this may take the form of a
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ENGL-1010
restorative conference in which the offender, victim, and others discuss their motivations, how
the offense affected them, and what outcome they think would be appropriate, thus providing a
mechanism to hold the offender accountable while also facilitating emotional growth. Many
schools have begun implementing restorative practices, and a growing body of research indicates
that these initiatives have produced decreases in school suspension rates and helped strengthen
school communities.”
These changes are possible and they work, we can fund these programs simply by
decreasing the current prison population who were arrested on nonviolent crimes. According to
Arne Duncan, former U.S Secretary of Education, “if our states and localities took just half the
people convicted of nonviolent crimes and found paths for them other than incarceration, they
would save upwards of $15 billion a year. If they reinvested that money into paying the teachers
who are working in our highest-need schools and communities--they could provide a 50 percent
average salary increase to every single one of them. Specifically, if you focused on the 20
percent of schools with the highest poverty rates in each state, that would give you 17,640
schools--and the money would go far enough to increase salaries by at least 50 percent.” This is
key to reforming our schools especially since teachers are molding our future and deserve a
respectable wage for their efforts. Plus, more funding available means better teachers, better
training, more effective programs, interventions and free meals. Providing a better funded and
trained staff will encourage a stronger community environment where the students can find
support outside of their homes. “While school counselors don’t provide therapy, they are often a
student’s first contact for mental health issues, as they can make referrals to appropriate
resources. (Matusek, 2019)” We need to make guidance counselors more available, “The Bureau
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ENGL-1010
of Labor Statistics estimates the number of school counselors will grow 13% by 2026 – twice the
average rate for all occupations. For now, most states have double the 250-to-1 ratio
recommended by ASCA, but some are working to catch up. Virginia, for example, will invest
$12 million in more school counselors. And those personnel must spend at least 80% of their
time in direct counseling with students.” Hopefully we continue to see this trend because I
remember being in high school waiting all day for our school counselor to get back to me.
I believe these ideas are key to preventing overcrowded prisons and the increasing
number of high school dropouts. Implementing these ideas and changes will help dismantle the
school to prison pipeline, giving our youth more opportunities to obtaining a bright future which
would create a safer, smarter society. If we don’t do something to protect adolescents then we are
letting disadvantaged kids fall into a failed justice system that doesn’t help individuals with
mental illness and substance abuse problems. I take this particular topic personal since I come
from a city where a number of the kids, I grew up with are in jail, dead, fighting substance abuse
and at least have been arrested once. The majority of the youth I know have never received any
treatment or help but have experienced or seen traumatic events which is just normalized. I
believe passing legislations and making these ideas mandatory and permanent in all school
districts will destroy the school to prison pipeline while reducing crime, saving us money and
lives.
Kebron Moges
ENGL-1010
Works Cited
Matusek, Sarah. "School Counselors More Available on Mental Health 'Front Lines'." Christian
Science Monitor, 13 Jun 2019. sirsissuesresearcher, https://explore-proquest-
com.libprox1.slcc.edu/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2265908438?accountid=28671.
Safe and Smart After-School Programs Detailed in Guide for Communities. , 2000.
sirsissuesresearcher, https://explore-proquest-
Siegfried, Christine. "Victimization and Youth Violence." Prevention Researcher, 2007.
Smith, Carolyn A. "Juvenile Delinquency: An Introduction." Prevention Researcher, 2008.
Duncan, Arne. Investing in Teachers Instead of Prisons. , 2015. sirsissuesresearcher,
https://explore-proquest-
Staples, Gracie B. "'School-to-Prison Pipeline'." Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 06 Apr 2010.
Earls, Felton J., and Christy A. Visher. "Project on Human Development in Chicago
Neighborhoods: A Research.." National Institute of Justice Research in Brief, Feb 1997.
Smith, Carolyn A. "Juvenile Delinquency: An Introduction." Prevention Researcher, 2008.
Michael D. Sumner, Carol J. Silverman, and Mary Louise Frampton, School-Based Restorative
Justice as an Alternative to Zero-Tolerance Policies: Lessons From West Oakland
(Berkeley, CA: Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, 2010),
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/112010_Schoolbased_Restorative_Justice_As_an_Alt
ernative_to_Zero-Tolerance_Policies.pdf; Cara Suvall, “Restorative Justice in Schools:
Learning from Jena High School,” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 44
(2009), http://harvardcrcl.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/547-570.pdf.
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ENGL-1010
DC Lawyers for Youth, District Discipline: The Overuse of School Suspensions and Expulsions
in the District of Columbia, Every Student Every Day Coalition, (p. 1),
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/dcly/pages/64/attachments/original/1371689930/
District_Discipline_Report.pdf?1371689930, (12/12/2019).

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Kebron Moges

Civic Engagement Final

Reforming School Discipline to Help Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline

relationships, victimization as an adult, and suicide. There also appears to be a significant

disciplinary methods and stopping the school to prison pipeline.

decades of a "zero tolerance" mentality has contributed dramatically to a spike in exclusionary

Encouraging good behavior is extremely important in schools but we need to recognize

effective school discipline and social-emotional practices designed to improve student

engagement in classroom activities.” Another alternative to current disciplinary methods is

restorative practices, sometimes referred as restorative justice. As reported by “the International

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