“School-to-prison pipeline.” It’s one of those phrases that pull you up when you first encounter it. A pipeline is structured to deliver something to a destination, an uninterrupted and efficient process. School is supposed to function as a pipeline for many things — a literate population, say — but certainly not as conduit to the criminal justice system.
Yet a growing stack of studies (including “Breaking Schools’ Rules,” a statewide analysis released this summer of the school and juvenile records of nearly 1 million Texas seventh-graders) concludes that in school districts across the country, suspension and expulsion policies, well-meaning though they may be, are denying many students the benefit of instruction, feeding truancy and dropout rates and tracking into the juvenile justice system many more students than can be justified.
Though suspension and expulsion policies vary widely, the studies indicate a disturbing uniformity in how they are enforced. Mostly, black and Hispanic students (particularly black males) and students with disabilities are punished more severely and suspended or expelled more frequently than white students for similar offenses, even when they are first-time offenders or the offenses are minor, such as a dress-code violation.
Racial disparities in education, from achievement gaps to disciplinary actions, do not bear simple explanations. Still, it isn’t difficult to understand the vicious cycle the studies illuminate. Students play truant or drop out of school for many reasons. But clearly, a student who accumulates a bunch of out-of-school suspensions or expulsions is more likely to fall behind in class, more likely to cover up by breaking more rules — unexcused absences, for example — and more likely to quit school altogether. (Isn’t it ironic that as districts are putting more time and money into programs to reverse truancy and dropout rates, those efforts are likely to be undercut by rising suspensions and expulsion rates?)
Suspensions and expulsions do have their place, but the clear alert in the analyses of school discipline policies is that public schools are relying increasingly on out-of-school suspensions, and to a lesser extent on expulsions, to address even minor infractions. The enforcement measurably is unequal and unfair, and the impact falls disproportionately on black and Hispanic students.
It may be argued that we live with the consequences of our times, that tough situations demand tough measures. We live in a society awash with weapons. Violence, verbal and physical, is a spectator sport, and rudeness virtually an art form. There is no telling how confrontations of any kind may end. In some cases, we have criminalized the foolishness of youth. (Share a suggestive photo via a cellphone, and you could wind up on record as a sex offender).
Under such circumstances, one could sympathize with the point that it is much simpler and safer to toss a difficult student out of school. Besides, given the pressure on schools to raise their academic game, who would have the time to coach unruly students on behavior modification. Increasingly, these days, a police officer is likely to be stationed somewhere in the school, ready to slip on the cuffs. Ill-advised behavior that a decade or so ago might have been handled with a dressing down in the classroom or at the principal’s office could easily land before a juvenile court judge.
The secretary of education, Arne Duncan, and Attorney General Eric Holder, recently expressed their concerns about the disparities in school discipline. They announced a joint project for educators and people in the justice system to team up to address school practices that can drive students into the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Among its goals, the Supportive School Discipline Initiative would consider guidelines to ensure that discipline is enforced in ways that comply with civil rights laws, research and promote alternative interventions for behavior problems.
Any effort is welcome that would ensure schools are not working at cross-purposes, spending on one hand to reverse dropouts and delinquencies, while another set of policies pitches students out of school. There is every reason to suspend or expel a student who, for example, threatens another with a firearm or causes serious injury to someone. The trick is how to manage the vast majority of students who are caught doing what children do — often testing their limits — but are not a danger to anyone. Suspensions and expulsions are essential tools for a safe and orderly school environment, but is it the best option to toss out a student who is chronically late to school or one who sneaks a cellphone into class?
Ofobike is Beacon Journal chief editorial writer. She can be reached at 330-996-3513 or by email at lofobike@thebeaconjournal.com
