One of the main issues affecting black communities in America is the school-to-prison pipeline. This trend refers to “policies and practices” in schools that function to push "at-risk” students out of educational institutions and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems (ACLU). The “get a good education so you can get a good job” philosophy oftentimes seems far-fetched to black Americans, especially for those who reside in low-income neighborhoods. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, at-risk individuals have "learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse or neglect” which often get overlooked by school authorities who tend to focus solely on behavioral issues as they arise (ACLU). However such problems among students are typically the surface effects of the aforementioned underlying issues. Other factors contributing to the school to prison pipe line include “overcrowded classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and insufficient funding for ‘extras’ such as counselors, special education services, and even textbooks”(ACLU).
Many students fall victim to "'zero-tolerance’ policies that criminalize minor infractions of school rules” (ACLU). Schools often rely heavily on police to settle student affairs and often send misbehaving students to alternative disciplinary schools where helpful resources are even more scarce (ACLU). Many students put out of school, are "often left unsupervised and without constructive activities” (ACLU). According to NPR, students returning from school suspension may become unmotivated given the amount of missed classwork and are therefore more likely to drop out. School drop outs often end up acquiring criminal records. Many students are sent directly to juvenile or criminal institutions after being involved in school fights. Moreover, various studies have concluded that black students are “much more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students, even when the infractions are the same”(NPR).
The constant push for education reform will ultimately lead to the eradication of the school to prison pipeline. However, just as erasing racial bias in the criminal justice system, successfully reversing the bias that exists in our school systems seems quite impossible. Still, school administrators need to recognize the underlying issues that affect student behavior as well as decisions fueled by racial stereotypes.
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