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Dismantling the School-to Prison Pipeline

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Dismantling the School-to Prison Pipeline

The school-to-prison pipeline entails the streamlining of at-risk learners from schools to

correctional-based facilities that results from disciplinary practices and forbidding misbehavior

in schools. The school-to-prison pipeline is an outcome of zero tolerance policies that initially

authorized schools to discipline students for carrying weapons and drugs into school premises

(Rocque, 2018). Over the years, the penalty has expanded to incorporate nonviolent crimes that

do not pose a serious threat. A large number of learners have been suspended or expelled for

noncriminal related acts such as violation of the dress code, defiance towards the school

management and other disruptive behaviors (Nance, 2016). By shifting attention from imposing

punishment towards creating a welcoming learning environment, techniques such as On-Campus

Intervention Program can help to dismantle the school-prison-pipeline.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, approximately 260,000 students were sent to law

enforcement and about 130,000 were expelled from school due to minor misconducts (Rocque,

2018). Over the same period, it was reported that more than 3 million learners were suspended at

least once. At the same. Still, studies have established that a student is 23.5% more likely to drop

out of school upon receiving exclusionary punishment (Cheek & Bucchio, 2017). With more

schools keen on applying the zero tolerance policy, a pattern has emerged depicting how

minority students are receiving most severe punishment at imbalanced rates for minor subjective

misconducts such as cell phone use and verbal aggression (Rocque, 2018). Statistics indicate that

despite representing 16 percent of the overall student population in the United States, about 34%

of black students were expelled and 42% received suspension on several accession during the

same year (Schiff, 2018).

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Although strict disciplinary action applied under the school-to-prison pipeline may be

vital in punishing deviant behavior that threatens safety of other learners within the school

premises, it is not appropriate for punishing minor problematic behaviors. Instead, schools

should adopt more positive-centered strategies for tackling and deterring defiant conduct among

students (Rocque, 2018). Schools should strive to safeguard vulnerable students from the dangers

of imprisonment and reoffending. The school setting should enable learners to focus on getting

rid of such undesirable behavior.

One of the techniques that can be used to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline is the On-

Campus Intervention Program (OCIP). The approach can be help to create a change from

punitive school setting to one that is welcoming for all learners. OCIP operates based on

counseling and support services to enable students address and shift challenging behaviors by

granting them opportunities to learn from the faults and concentrate on personal development

(Cheek & Bucchio, 2017). The program also allows for nurturing of essential life skills such as

goal setting, effective communication as well as decision making. Studies have shown that the

students enlisted in the OCIP initiative depicted improved behavior and also had a significant

decline in disciplinary referrals. OCIP is meant to teach pro social behavior. The guiding

resources under the intervention include restorative practices and the social discipline window

(Rocque, 2018). The aim of the program is work with the students and enhance the probability of

perceiving more prosocial behaviors and minimize recidivism rates. The educator works by

assisting the students to reflect on their conduct and perspectives, while still maintaining a clear

expectation of what the respective students need to do in future to attain success.

Another solution to address the school-to-prison issues is Consistency Management and

Cooperative Discipline (CMCD). The initiative is a classroom and school reform framework that
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is centered on shared responsibility for learning and classroom organization between educators

and learners (Cheek & Bucchio, 2017). The program works with help of a geographic feeder

system of schools from kindergarten to twelfth grade. It incorporates all students, educators as

well as school administrators within a particular geographical area. Students enrolled in the

program receive continued messages about self-discipline. The messages are changed annually

and vary based on class. Moreover, the educator is able to establish a reliable and flexible

learning atmosphere and works with students in creating a cooperative plan for classroom rules,

processes, time management and learning within the classroom (Cheek & Bucchio, 2017).

Although, schools are not synonymous with democratic principles, CMCD encourages teachers

to be apply principles of democracy in effort to minimize disturbing behaviors (Schiff, 2018). As

students transition from one grade level to the next, they continue to experience more

opportunities to get involved in the management of classrooms as well as schools.

Putting less weight on standardized tests could also help to terminate the school-to-prison

pipeline. Low standardized test scores can lead to loss of funding for schools. Some experts

argue that reliance on standardized tests is among the factors that encourage the school-to-prison

pipeline. In a situation where classrooms are seen as “test prep centers,” and students’ success is

tied to test scores, there is a high probability for students to loss interest in learning (LDF, n.d.).

As such, some learners may start to engage in deviant behaviors in response to the stress linked

with test scores. The education system should be centered on developing a whole students and

not just to prepare them for tests (Nance, 2016). Schools should recognize positive behavior and

rate success based on different aspects including athletic performance and other co-curricular

activities.
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Overall, end the school-to-prison pipeline requires efforts from various stakeholders

including the community to start helping the students with behavior issues at home. Interventions

such as On-Campus Intervention Program can help to change the school environment by shifting

the focus from punishment to nurturing good behavior among students. Other techniques such as

CMCD can tackle end the pipeline by allowing students to participate in planning their

classroom activities and rules.

References

Schiff, M. (2018). Can restorative justice disrupt the ‘school-to-prison

pipeline?’. Contemporary Justice Review, 21(2), 121-139.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580.2018.1455509

Rocque, M. (2018). The prison school: Educational inequality and school discipline in

the age of mass incarceration. Journal of Criminal Justice Education Vol. 29(3).

https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2017.1310476

Nance, J. P. (2016). Dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline: Tools for change. Ariz. St.

LJ, 48, 313.

Cheek, K & Bucchio, J. (2017, September 7). School-to-Prison Pipeline Can Be

Dismantled Using Alternative Discipline Strategies. Justice Juvenile Information Exchange.

https://jjie.org/2017/09/07/alternative-discipline-strategies-for-dismantling-the-school-to-prison-

pipeline/

LDF. (n.d.). Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline. NAACP Legal Defense and

Educational Fund. https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-

content/uploads/Dismantling_the_School_to_Prison_Pipeline__Criminal-Justice__.pdf
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