Cognitive Diversity in Youth Impacted by the Carceral System: A Case Study Centering Youth Experiences With Disability and Education

• In Event: Biographical Authorship and Contestation of Institutional Construction of Disability at Raced Intersections

Abstract

Minoritized youth with disabilities are overrepresented in both school discipline and carceral system involvement yet the role of disability is often overlooked. The current mixed methods case study explores the experiences of young adults who have been impacted by the juvenile legal system and who may also have navigated learning disabilities. This investigation includes quantitative and qualitative data to better understand, and add to the knowledge base regarding concrete educational, carceral, and life impacts of learning disabilities that influence trajectories of youth impacted by the legal system. In conducting this project, we hoped to provide insights about how to improve educational programming within the public school system and mitigate the factors which push youth into the juvenile legal system.

Authors

• Cynthia Valencia-Ayala, University of California - San Francisco

• Michelle V. Porche, University of California - San Francisco