Watch: the school-to-prison-pipeline, explained
A Florida boy was arrested after refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in class
the situation is emblematic of what criminal justice reform advocates have called the “school-to-prison pipeline.”
Discipline that in the past would have likely involved just a school, the student, and the student’s parents increasingly also involves law enforcement — leading to consequences not just within the school but with the criminal justice system as well.
This can lead to lasting damage, not just through a juvenile or criminal record but by also taking students out of school (which can heighten the risk of criminal activity).
Federal investigations and reports have similarly found that black students are punished more harshly than white students in schools, even when black and white students engage in identical or similar behavior.
