Prison Pipeline Abuse

Throughout the 1980’s, rises in crime caused officials to cut down on misconduct, and begin enforcing more controlling policies and regulations in schools (“The School to Prison Pipeline”). Although one would expect actions like so to help solve the problem, they ended up making the problem even worse. By implementing stricter disciplinary codes in schools, these officials ended up creating what is now known as the school to prison pipeline, a situation for students in which their time spent in an educational institution results in a life entangled with crime. It may even be said that the pipeline arose out of the worst fears of scholars and other officials during the 1980’s. For example, Judah Schept, Tyler Wall, and Avi Brisman, associate
Mainly, the current situation has been caused by new, more strict policies in schools. In order to cut down on misconduct, educational administrators began to implement harsh regulations. For example, in many schools, “Zero Tolerance” policies were enforced. Originally, the policies were meant to keep students clear from the rise in gang activity and other crime. However, “By criminalizing routine disciplinary problems, they have damaged the lives of many children by making them more likely to drop out and entangling them, sometimes permanently, in the criminal justice system” (“The School-to-Prison Pipeline”). In doing so, strict school regulations have led to the formation of the pipeline itself. By involving students with the law at an early age, school officials are causing them to live lives riddled with crime. Another cause leading to the problem is the increase in gang affiliation in public schools. Both Kayla Gass and Judson Laughter believe that gang affiliation is often connected to misconduct, and it is the misconduct that results in students being affected by the school to prison pipeline (4). While gang affiliation may not seem relevant in many neighborhoods, in others it is the main supplier of children for the pipeline to feed on. In fact, it is a combination of these two causes that has resulted in the current situation of the school to prison pipeline
A recent increase in school suspensions has led to the school to prison pipeline thriving on students. Even though the juvenile incarceration rate has recently dropped considerably, the pipeline remains an extremely important topic, mainly because of how much it relates to other key issues in America. For example, if the decrease in educated students being emerging from the educational system continues, the American economy could take a serious hit from the dwindling number of qualified individuals for more high level jobs. However, there is still hope. Groups such as the New York City School-Justice Partnership Task Force have been recently searching for the underlying demographic causes to these problems, in order to organize and create solutions (“The School-to-Prison Pipeline”). While these groups may not be accomplishing immediate progress, one can clearly see how effective their actions may be in the future. However, these solutions may not be enough. Time is running out for educational officials to make a change, and if they do not devise a feasible solution soon, the American economy could be facing an unbeatable