Exploring the School-Based Labeling Effects of an In-School versus Out-Of-School Arrest on a Cohort of Florida Youth

• In Event: School and Court Responses to Delinquent Youth

Abstract

A large proportion of Florida youth who are referred to the state’s juvenile justice system are arrested at traditional public schools. Research on labeling theory and the broader context of the “school-to-prison pipeline” has shown that formal involvement with the juvenile justice system perpetuates future delinquency and funnels children away from traditional schools and further into the justice system. Using data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and Florida Department of Education, we use propensity score matching to compare a cohort of youth who received their first arrest in a traditional public school with a cohort of youth arrested for the first time outside of school between 2004 and 2009. Analyses will compare the differences in various school-based disciplinary actions (i.e., suspension, expulsion, and alternative school placement) for the cohorts of arrested youth. We will determine whether youth who are arrested on school grounds are adversely labeled by the school administration and receive more frequent and/or more severe disciplinary actions than their counterparts who were arrested outside of school.

Authors

• Sonja E. Siennick, Florida State University

• George B. Pesta, Florida State University

• Julie Mestre Brancale, Florida State University

• Jennifer M. Brown, Florida State University

• Mark A. Greenwald, Florida State University