34.012 - The Resurgence of Zero Tolerance? Combating the School-to-Prison Pipeline in a Post-Truth Era

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

Over the past fifteen years, the movement to combat the school-to-prison pipeline has made important gains in shifting public discourse away from zero tolerance, winning changes in school discipline policy at state and local levels and advancing positive and restorative alternatives. It has done so by combining the personal stories of students and their parents who have been the victims of school pushout with data from researchers on the extent, harms and racial disparities in school discipline and the power of organizing and civil rights advocacy. But the movement now faces the prospect of its gains being reversed as a resurgent movement and federal administration pushes for zero tolerance policies and arming school staff and weakens civil rights enforcement – without evidence or research to support their efforts. The renewed calls for zero tolerance policies rely on anecdotal information and misuse of data, as well as stereotypes of “dangerous” black and brown students who prevent “good” students from learning. In response, stakeholders have mobilized to counter this resurgence variously through data, stories and grassroots mobilization. These actors have not only resisted the resurgence of zero tolerance; they have also tried to continue to make progress at local and state levels in changing school discipline policies and reducing police presence in schools, but need to do so in this new political climate. This session will bring together researchers, grassroots organizers and civil rights legal advocates to assess the state of the movement to combat the school-to-prison pipeline in this post-truth era and amidst the Trump administration’s resurgent zero tolerance policies. Participants will highlight new strategies used to combine data and stories with advocacy and organizing to create both a compelling narrative and the power to resist the criminalization of children of color in schools and communities.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chair

• Mark R. Warren, University of Massachusetts - Boston

Participants

• Russell J. Skiba, Indiana University

• Daniel Losen, University of California - Los Angeles

• Judith Browne-Dianis, The Advancement Project

• Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, Dignity in Schools Campaign

• Jonathan Stith, National Coordinator for the Alliance Educational Justice

Discussant

• Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute