The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defines the "School to Prison Pipeline" as a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.
“Zero-tolerance” policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules, while cops in schools lead to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school. Students of color are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the discriminatory application of discipline. Today, we will learn more about this trend, its implications for the future of brown and black students, and how trauma-informed initiatives are driving a change to move schools from policies that criminalize children to instituting systems that promote care and healing.
