Facts about the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences are rampant in American society. Add in racial, ethnic, gender and cultural biases to already vulnerable childhoods, and the severity, exposure, and symptoms of that trauma become readily visible in children’s behavior and their social relationships or lack thereof.
Too often the response—particularly for students identified as poor, of color, immigrant, and disabled students—results in discrimination, criminalization and exclusion.
This culture of marginalizing and policing vulnerable students is pervasive in the education and criminal justice systems and has ultimately built what is largely referred to as the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
Many of these children come from impoverished communities and have experienced abuse or neglect. These children are most in need of trauma informed practices and environments including schools. Instead they are targeted, punished, and pushed out.
Facts about Suspension & Exclusionary School Discipline Policies and Youth Incarceration
- Children of color and children with disabilities are disproportionately suspended.
- Of children of color with disabilities, more than 1 in 4 boys and nearly 1 in 5 girls of color receive an out of school suspension.
- The most significant indicator of which children will be suspended is not the type of offense but the color of their skin, their special education status, what school they go to, and whether they have been suspended before.
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1.6 million (k – 12th grade) students attended a school that employed a law enforcement officer but no counselor.
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!