Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline
The “school-to-prison pipeline,” a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This is enable by policies and practices from the school, to district, state and federal level. Many of the children most impacted by this “push out” have learning disabilities, histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.
MomsRising is working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline from the point of suspension to the point of youth incarceration. Challenging the practices and policies that push students out of schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. When we work to dismantle the School to prison pipeline we open up opportunities to advance the cradle to college pathway.
Most parents do not know that they have the power to push for community-based alternatives to suspension in schools and even further for alternatives to incarceration in the juvenile justice system. Educating parents and families about the school-to-prison pipeline, and the practices of exclusion and racialized school discipline policies is the first step to building public support for change.
Suspensions & Exclusionary School Discipline Policies
Three million students, including preschoolers and kindergartners, are suspended from public schools each year across the nation. This harmful practice begins the school-to-prison pipeline.
Youth Incarceration
The experience for a child entering a youth prison is similar to the experience of entering an adult prison. Incarceration is traumatic, hurt kids, breaks up families, and leads to lifelong challenges for all affected.
VIDEO: How America is failing our children and what we can do about it.
KidsRising is a social media community with over 47K followers managed by MomsRising to advance dialogue and action around the effects of excessive school discipline policies that feed the school-to-prison pipeline and lead to youth incarceration. We are invested in strategies like social emotional development of young people, including trauma informed care, restorative justice and alternatives to youth incarcerations. These are critical components to shifting cultures that criminalize young people. JOIN US!