The United States Justice Department took one step forward in the fight against the criminalization of marginalized youth this past Wednesday by filing a law suit “claiming that the due process rights of children are “repeatedly and routinely” violated when arrested for minor offenses, accusing officials of operating a “school to prison pipeline” that singles out blacks and juveniles with disabilities.”
“The ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ refers to the policies and practices that push our nation’s schoolchildren, especially our most at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.”
“Although initially intended to send a “tough on violence” message…zero tolerance policies gradually expanded to cover ambiguous, non-violent offenses such as insubordination and school disturbance…resulting in mandate[d] suspension or expulsion” and “pushed an increasing number of students out of school, often times for minor offenses.” Already marginalized, an astounding number of students are “excluded from school grounds, reported to law enforcement officials, and ultimately face criminal sanctions for activity that took place on school grounds.” Marginalized youth are generally from low-income families, racial minorities, or disabled, and these youth “disproportionately populate the juvenile court, as well as juvenile shelter care, detention, and incarceration facilities….For many special education eligible children swept into the school-to-prison pipeline, a pivotal point is a status offense charge for truancy, ungovernability, or running away. The “school-to-prison pipeline” represents the ways in which the failures of school systems to educate our children contribute to the increase in the juvenile justice and adult prison population.”
The No Child Left Behind Act fed into an already broken system by requiring accountability provisions which created a very large incentive for schools to find ways to not be mandated to account for poor performers. This was largely done by holding back, pushing into special education, or pushing these under-performers out of the system entirely. The model school, which set the standard for the federal No Child Left Behind Act, operated on this very process before becoming the “Texas Miracle.” “Tens of thousands” of students disappeared from school to boost test scores, and the “disappeared” where primarily “students of color” as well as youth with unaddressed mental health issues.
“A troubled domestic economy, the mass unemployment and incarceration of disadvantaged minorities, and resulting fiscal crises in urban public education have shifted school disciplinary policies and practices and staff perceptions of poor students of color in a manner that promotes greater punishment and exclusion of students perceived to be on a criminal justice `track’ and little has been done to correct these failings on a systemic level, leaving a constant supply of youth who are funneled into the justice system by right of default.
Test scores improved while prison populations exploded. Where is a young, uneducated or difficult to educate person to go when the school entrusted to educate makes success impossible due the demands of accountability and finds ways to get rid of “the problem” instead of instituting programs and hiring staff capable of addressing the underlying issues effectively because of budget constraints and the need to show performance markers based on standardized test scores?
Our systems are interconnected. This is a truth, whether we like to see it that way or not. Our education system, judicial system, corporate structure, and healthcare have an interactive part in the creation of this tragedy. One cannot speak of educational reform without addressing prison reform and healthcare reform. Funneling hard to teach kids into prisons as a means of control, or perhaps hiding the systems failings only profits those who own the prisons. Private prisons are governed by corporate laws.
“Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have identified 2,000 high schools in the country(12 percent) responsible for nearly half of the nation’s dropouts. The children attending these “dropout factories” are overwhelmingly minority.” 2000 high schools, out of approximately 37,000 nationwide, are responsible for nearly half of all drop-outs.
So what’s the solution? “We can spot students in elementary school who, if adults do intervene, will be less likely to drop out. Potential dropouts can be identified as early as the fourth and sixth grades by looking at attendance, behavior and, of course, failure in math and English. We can focus our resources on these schools and their students with the goal of turning them around and rescuing hundreds of thousands of children from the cradle to prison pipeline.” We can properly fund appropriate and comprehensive programs designed to educate the whole child and adequately address many of the underlying issues.
The introduction of the new Core Standards Curriculum, adopted by most states, promises to reinvigorate the educational system, however if we fail to address the underlying conditions that have marginalized so many youth already, what are we really accomplishing? Will it only serve to further widen the gap between those who have and those who can from those who are less advantaged? Or will we, as a nation, embrace the opportunity now before us and take on the challenge to educate all of our nation’s children in a comprehensive manner?
Written by Michelle Sicignano, LMSW
SJS Staff Writer
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hi michelle
Teacher’s unions play no small role in these schools, too. As a former correctional social worker, and as one who has worked and is still working in inner city, in schools for a bit, in CPS for over a decade, a big problem is that youth crime has no consequences. Youth can rob, stab, steal cars, deal drugs, assualt people- and untiil they’ve done and been found “involved” multiple times, they get away with it. Probation- who cares about that when you’re stabbing and robbing? They disrupt schools– I’ve seen children get their teeth kicked out by other kids, kids bring in guns to school, kids threaten to kill me and teacher for enforcing the rules not to try to kill each other, and more– honestly, prison is a far safer environment than an inner city school. What I heard from more than a few adult inmates, “If I was punished for real the first time, I wouldn’t have kept doing it. It’s unfair- I got 20 years for something I did 20 times before and got nothing.” This suit is ill-guided– we need to crack down on failing schools, and we need to crack down on violent youth on first offense, or none of our social issues will disappear.
Did you ever wonder or ask what would have happened if those adults who have lived a marginal life of crime before ending up in jail had been provided with appropriate tools and support as youths to direct them away from violence and street life toward a life pursuing a desired career that could support them and give them a sense of pride? No healthy person wants to live a marginal life, in and out of jail or never striving for a full, satisfying life. The evidence in support of this suit is overwhelming. It’s a long-standing, well-researched issue. Cracking down on failing schools by further marginalizing youth certainly isn’t the answer. Raising standards and making sure appropriate supports are in place to support the whole individual might be. You cited Lord of the Flies once before, I’ll cite Call of the Wild.
I wrote a long a detailed reply, but I cannot see it! Somehow the count rose, and the site is claiming I am making duplicate posts- but I can’t see it!!
i see the post in the system on my end, its here, but im not sure why it isn’t posting…
Mike I deleted the comment, please try again, sorry for the trouble…
Ok I think the problem was with the nested comments system, two replies seemed to make a comment disappear, doing away with it for now until i can find a better system, but you should be good to go…
Thank you, Matt.
Consequences and education ARE the tools needed to improve the lives of youth. Youth do not go to prison for minor crimes, at least not in Baltimore. In Hickey, Juvenile Justice Center, kids are doing time for shootings, carjackings, rape. When one becomes familiar with criminal justice, it is shocking how convictions on violent, horrific crimes are minor- stab somoene, get six months probatio. What happens? Victim or victim’s family gets angry, and retaliates. This is a large contributor to violence in poor areas- criminals aren’t properly punished, vicitms are angry, and they take revenge. The vendetta is an old human tradition in lawless areas- our inner cities and poor communties are no exceptio. We get alot of calls regarding parents going to schools and beating up other’s peoples children for picking on their kids- because the schools cannot truly punish the offender. Margins are defined by boundaries one should not cross- what happens when our society allows people to cross those boundaries in a way that hurts others, and do so without meaningful consequences? Suits like this, just like the “Dangerous School” clause in NCLB, will simply make courts and police even less likely to punish perpetrators. And the studies? Well, unfortunately, most social science studies of large-scale social issues are not scientific- they are surveys- and usually conducted by programs looking to justify grant money for their programs once you dig a bit. Show me a study with control and experimental groups, with efforts taken to isolate specifc variables on outcomes, and I’ll believe them. I’ve worked in Corrections, CPS- which has intimate involvement with DJS (Juvie), city schools- violent children who cannot be controlled is a serious, serious issue, and a large part of it is that schools and courts will not take them seriously until they kill someone. No amount of therapy replaces the reality that if I punch you I get to keep your money, laugh at you, and even if arrested, I’ll right back out to punch you harder for snitching. Until I turn 21, and the court finally sentences me to 10 years, and I whine to Mr. Serene about how unfaiir it is I’ve been robbing folks forever without punishment, why is it bad now? And that was a common complaint amongst the adult inmates.
Perhaps your personal experience and views colors your opinion of this issue, Too many children, mainly children of color, have found themselves in the justice system for minor crimes and offenses, and the environment they find themselves in breed worse behaviors than the ones that originally caused issues. Violent treatment and rape in every facility including juvenile facilities is notorious. An eleven year old put in such a place learns to push back harder and quicker and strike first and not how to resolve conflicts positively. Too often, no where along the line is there a unified system of support in place which can help kids choose a positive life path when living in dysfunctional environments: A violent, or emotionally or physically abusive home, combined with over-crowded,underfunded dysfunctional schools in neighborhoods rife with poverty and violence and and low in supportive outlets does not often led to positive life choices that prepare kids to take active steps toward meaningful, productive career paths. Yes, perhaps some kids find themselves in and out of the system where its a kind of game until getting caught for something more serious that ends up in hard time, but where were the supports that could have turned these kids around the first time they got caught stealing someone elses lunch money in 1st grade or getting into fights in second grade. No one is born into this world saying I want to lead a life of petty crime and end up in jail. People without hope, dreams and ambitions see no direction for themselves and need support so they are able to see there is different way and define and take steps toward a chosen life path.
If 2000 high schools, out of approximately 37,000 nationwide, are responsible for nearly half of all drop-outs, I am sure we can figure out a way to provide better supports targeting the issues that cause such high dropouts in these communities to improve outcomes. The answer, I don’t believe, is harsher punishment. As a parent, is harsher really what works? or is it structure and consistency?
If only 2000 high schools out of 37,000 produce half of all drop-outs, the problem is clearly cented on those high schools. They do need to be targeted for a complete evaluation, as they clearly do not work for the students. 35,000 high schools, however, do.
Structure and consistency mean punishment for bad behavior, reward for good- setting rules and not enforcing then is the opposite of structure. And this is why our poor neighborhoods are violent and infested with crime- crimes against people go unpunished. Eleven year old minorities may be arrested- but they do not go to prison unless they murdered someone. People learn to enact behaviors that reward them, and avoid behaviors that harm them. Crime in the inner city currently rewards folks, esp. children, with little fear of real punishment. Structure therefor lapses. Yes, I’ll take my 20 years of direct experience in poverty-stricken areas and in working with violent youth and familes over any biased foundation justify-our-grant study. Remeber this, too- violent treatment and rape start in the neigborhoods- they just continue in prison. Many of the people in prison like it- it is safer than street, they get jobs as criminal records don’t matter, their friends are in their, they get 3 hots and cot, the can lift weights, use drugs (the yard always smelled of weed, and the inmates smoked Top so you couldn’t tell what was the j and what was the tobacco), and hang out. It was actually a pretty cool job- just needed better hours. It is an eye opener– if you don’t work intimately with urban poor, I suggest you do. It’s an eye opener to how the world really works. The Justice Dept. suit wlll simply make things worse- children do not got to jail for petty reasons- they rarely even go to jail for serious reasons.
You make many assumptions. Yes, it is good to question studies, but data is data, and many studies are not skewed or flawed. Look at the data from the Department of Justice: “A total of 48 states authorize jailing of juveniles who are awaiting trial in criminal court. In 14 of these states, use of adult jails rather than juvenile detention facilities for pretrial holding of transferred juveniles is mandated, at least in some circumstances” (https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/232434.pdf) In one state children as young as 10 are classified as adult and many more states the age is 13 or 14. If convicted, these kids are sent to juvenile facilities, but then many of them end up in adult jails in some cases as young as 15 or 16. And not only for murder or sex offenses. Often it’s for property crime or drugs, especially if its a repeat offense.
You have no idea of my circumstances, background or experience in the world, yet out right say I need an eye-opener on how the world really works. You really might want to check your assumptions. My understanding and concern with a long-standing travesty is more than academic, and there is much data to support my conclusions.
An eeked out existence with very little hope of really advancing in society is hardly rewarding to anyone.
The leap from kid jail to adult jail is well-documented, but I’d be more apt to believe that people become used to an environment and find something comforting in a structure, and may not know how to exist outside of that structure. I would never assume anyone “likes” jail, and if they do, then society has failed them somewhere.
Michael, this might also broaden your understanding.
http://www.eji.org/files/Raising%20Children%20Behind%20Bars%20%20The%20New%20York%20Times%20%2011%2020%2007.pdf
An editorial article without any mention of scientific study? I’m open to learning, but only from a valid source. I don’t have to assume people like imprisonment; I’ve worked with inmates and corrections initmately, and there are people that do like prison- and for excellent, logical reasons. It IS a failure of society, as well as failures of individuals, that this is so. Children can be held in adult jails- and if they are violent, they need to be held. More appropriate juvenile faciilities need to be built- but, as in Baltimore now, liberal short-sighted protestors are tying to block a new juvie jail- if they succeed, they kids will continue to be held in a specia wing of City jail. If you truly believe what you are writing up there, you do need an eye-opener- have you directly worked with criminals, juveniles, drug dealers, and their families in their neighborhoods? I have- if you have, please let me know, we can compare experiences, not discuss unsupported editorials or bogus studies. Once again– if you have access to a true scientific study, with no links to foundations seeking grants, please let me know– I haven’t found any. The studies you site are simply surveys- what is the cause of juvenile crime, why do they end up there, what are the comparable outcomes for children arrested for violent crimes and not punished vs. arrested and punished? The studies above just state that alot of kids are in adult jails, and it’s bad for them. That’s noit a very in-depth analysis- why is crime so prevelant in those areas? What role does War on Drugs and America’s collapsed industry play? You mentioned the need for structure- how do you define structure, if you excuse accountabiliity? You mention need for more tools- yet seem to object that the 2000 failing schools need to be targeted for theiir failures, and revamped. Nice sounding goals are great- but they mean nothign with operationalization on the ground. As a governent social worker in a poor area, I am part of the operation. And I can tell that you social work alone is not enough- war on drugs needs to stop, violent criminals of all ages need swift and certain punishment, children need to learn viable, valuable skills so they know that education will be rewarded. Welfare needs to be reformed to encourage marriage and family stability, as well as encourage a steady work ethic. Currently our system rewards criminals, punishes good kids that want to learn in inner city schools, punishes law-abiding families in those neighborhoods, and leaves the only real choice for many to buy or use drugs, and protect themselves with violence. Is it any wonder some people prefer jail?
I forgot to add this too- the current failing state of our mental health system is also a large contributor. The lack of funding for long-term residential facilities to treat troubled, violent youth is also a huge, huge problem, resulting in criminalizing many youth, just as with adults, as well as driving many parents to abandon their children with DSS.
Sorry for the delayed response. For some reason I have not been receiving email notices of comments. You object to my sources and call them bogus and mistake my words too? The 2000 schools must absolutely be targeted as I said in my original piece, and social work alone is never a solution as life in all its form is interactive and co-dependent on external associations. The underlying issues MUST be addressed if real change is to occur. I agree that the failing mental health system is a large contributor to this problem, as are the issues of poverty which we’ve discussed before.
Your objections to the department of justice source, or to foundation research is something I don’t understand. No research gets done unless it is funded by external sources. Do you have a particular concern or item to bring to awareness that informs about the research article cited about are somehow skewed or biased? If so, that would warrant further discussion.
And again, you question my background holding up yourself as potentially having more informed first hand knowledge. My background has no bearing on the validity of this piece, or on the validity of this problem, the issues surrounding it, or the solutions that need to occur.
Your background has everything to do with your views and assessments on the issues. I’m familiar with studies- we’re bombarded with them in child welfare- and the simple fact remains they are simply surveys, which are in no way scientific. Esp. when funded by agencies seeking grants- which, yes, may mean none if not most of the studies are invalid.
Most youth are rarely consequenced with their disruptive and violent behavior- hence the crime problem in poor neighborhoods. You want deliniquency to reduce– increased marriage, birth control mandatory for all on welfare, schools back to basic instruction on math, reading, combined with real, serious penalities for violence, are the only solution.
I was a teacher in one of the toughest schools in Connecticut. I had classes where there were 14 year olds next to 21 year olds. Most of the children in trouble were ignored at home and the most attention they got was from some one in the jeuvenile justice system. These children were not wanted. Period. Often they would show up after school without a place to call home. Yes we have a huge problem but let’s provide planned parenthood!