Advancing Equitable Access to Supportive School Discipline and Education: Challenging the School to Prison Pipeline

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

On January 8, 2014, Attorney General Holder and Secretary of Education Duncan released joint guidance regarding the Supportive School Discipline Initiative which strives to promote a positive school climate which provides each student with access to education in a safe environment for learning with supportive, fair school discipline. In contrast to this approach, many school jurisdictions appear to rely all too frequently on imposing: exclusionary disciplinary sanctions such as suspension and expulsion for even minor misbehaviors, indiscriminant enforcement of zero tolerance policies, and juvenile justice referrals for disciplinary infractions that do not merit such severe repercussions. Furthermore, there is evidence that the school disciplinary practices fueling the “school-to-prison pipeline” are being implemented disproportionately for minority students. Once youth enter the juvenile justice system, the need for access to quality education in residential facilities and upon return to the community remains critical. This panel highlights ongoing assessments of: school climate and discipline in Virginia, school discipline and juvenile justice outcomes in Texas, a multi-site judicially-led intervention to eliminate school discipline referrals to juvenile justice system, and the quality of education delivered to juvenile detainees in the State of Washington.

Sub Unit

• Area IV. Criminal Justice Policy and Practice / 36. Challenging Oppressive Justice Policies

Individual Presentations

• Authoritative School Climate as a Protective Factor Against Student Aggression: Linkages to School Suspension and the Racial Discipline Gap - Dewey Cornell, University of Virginia; Francis Huang, University of Missouri - Columbia

• School Discipline: Amount, Predictors, Effects and Disproportionality - Miner P. Marchbanks, Texas A&M University

• Evaluation of Judicially Led Responses to Eliminate School Pathways to the Juvenile Justice System - Shawn Marsh, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

• Systems Coordination and Educational Benefits for Youth in Short-Term Detention Facilities - Elizabeth Coker, University of Washington, Tacoma

Chair

• Barbara Tatem Kelley, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention