School To Prison Pipeline Research Paper

In recent years, the criminal justice system has seeped its way into our educational system with zero tolerance policies such as the school-to-prison pipeline. Zero-tolerance refers to punitive approaches that mandate a harsh punishment for all kinds of misbehaviors by a student regardless of the circumstances. On the other hand, the school-to-prison pipeline refers to policies that push our nation 's schoolchildren out of the classrooms and into the justice system. The initial purpose of these actions was to keep schools safe, however, in recent years, it has become a contributing factor to student underperformance. Further, these harsh disciplinary actions are disproportionately targeting minority youth, they’re being excluded and kept out …show more content…
This often results in disconnection from any institution and possibly lead to long term social and economic hardships. Once a child enters the criminal justice system and pleads guilty to any minor offense they could be picked up for almost anything, and once entangled in the justice system it’s difficult to get out. Vincent Schiraldi, author of What Mass Incarceration Looks Like for Juveniles stated that there is excessive force being used in juvenile facilities and that 39 states permit the use of isolation in these institutions, in addition, that staff members beat kids and have sex with them. Some may agree that he “push-out” process helps provide public safety and school safety, however, it 's rather harming and affecting the quality of life. These policies aren’t being implemented out equally on a national level African-Americans and Latinos are being incarcerated at a far higher rate than their white counterpart. The fallowing visual diagram Are Our Children Being Pushed Into Prison (2012) showed that 70 percent of students involved “in-school” arrest or are referred to law enforcement are black and …show more content…
There are unlimited outcomes to why Latina/o youth receive differential treatments and less consideration when it comes to receiving punishments; some of the contributing factors may be ethical disparities, racism, myths and stereotypes about Latina/o youth. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund, “Historical inequalities in the education system, particularly segregated school, concentrated poverty, and entrenched stereotypes- influence how school officials and law enforcement label and treat students who misbehave”. Mainstream America considers minority youth to be impoverished, lazy, uneducated and violent members of street gangs. These disparities and misconceptions often expose Latina/o youth to social disadvantages, like poverty, unemployment, and a failing educational system. Latina/o youth have been facing harsher sentencing and treatments by the criminal justice system and receiving unspoken manifestation, which means they’re possibly being