School to Prison

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Case Law

Justice Marshall

Seperate but Equal

Segragation Unconstititutional

Histroy in its Modern Form

School to Prison Pipeline

Black youth’s incarceration rate was 5.0 times as high as their white peers

STPP

Black students made up only 16% of students in the United States, but accounted for

42% of

out-of-school suspensions

Class Size

& Curriculum

• Race is closely linked to family SES.
• Race is also associated with school SES and racial composition.
• Schools with a high concentration of minorities have lower SES.
• School social status, student–teacher ratio, class size, teacher selection, and school rules are influenced by school SES.
• African American students in mainly Black schools both in advanced and general classes are more likely to be exposed to a less demanding curriculum due to lower teacher quality and expectations which lead to the academic achievement gap.

Class Size & Curriculum

SES

Teacher Quality

Implicit Bias

Punitive Measures

variety of media that communicate

negative stereotypes about persons of color.

interpret otherwise innocent behavior as part of a

pattern of negative behavior inherent in the student

Excessiveive Noise

Punitive Theory

Criminalizing Disruptive Behavior

Disciplinary codes

that define misconduct in vague

terms, stereotypes significantly shape teacher decisions as

to which students they punish.

SRO

This results in unnecessary arrests that increase the likelihood that a child will end up in the juvenile-justice system, and later, prison

Students were tasered for, among other things, “mouthing off to a police officer” and “trying to run from the principal’s office.

A SRO in Florida grabbing a 13-year old African- American youth, slamming him to the ground, and then twisting his arm for approximately 40 seconds, while the student writhed in pain.35 As police documents revealed, the student “never showed any aggression toward [the officer].”

Criminal Treatment

Examples

Children Respond

Reacting to years of discriminatory treatment, students may adjust their behavior, reacting coldly to teachers

with whom they are not familiar, fearing that the teacher, like others, will unfairly target them for discipline

Policies

Zero Tolerance

Policy

Zero Tolerance

Local Policies

Policie Officers

Policing Innocent behavior

Zero-tolerance

policies of the 1990’s initially targeted violent, gun-related, now include non violent offenses

School districts implemented local policies

that called for students to be suspended or expelled from school for less serious, discretionary offenses like defiant behavior and tardiness- no set definition-

Broad Discretion

Behavior Expectations Predominantly White Schools

1st

Warning

2nd

Write off at break

4th

Sent to office

3rd

Parents will be notified

Tardiness

Behavior

Expectations

Excessive Noise

Disruptive Behavior

Recommendations

1. Require Teachers, Administrators and any other school officials that have the power to suspend, expel or otherwise

discipline students to undergo training regarding implicit bias, mental health training.

2. Implement interventions that reduce the effects of implicit bias in the educational context by, among other things,

encouraging teachers to provide feedback, that if critical, reassures students of their ability to achieve.

3. Prohibit suspension of minor offenses

4. Provide equitable funding

Rid SRO

School Lunch

Best Practices Recommendations