School to Prison Pipeline

by Kaeley J. McEvoy

HARTFORD (09/19/2012) -- On July 26th the United Black Christians, with the support of the Connecticut Conference and Hartford Seminary, welcomed Jan Resseger, UCC Minister for Public Education and Witness, and the Rev. Sala Nolan, UCC Minister for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, to present an informational panel on the School to Prison Pipeline. The two explained the heartbreaking trend of "funneling troublesome students from the classroom to the juvenile detention center" by examining the shortcomings in federal support for public education and the extremely high increase in incarceration of youth.

Resseger named five main reasons for the increase in the School to Prison pipeline that relate to the public education system. First, Resseger explained how standardized testing has created a downward spiral for public schools. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act leaves students who are born in impoverished areas further and further behind, by continually draining support from schools plagued with unsuccessful test scores.

Another reason, Resseger claimed, is the increase in Zero Tolerance Discipline within public schools. Zero Tolerance Discipline leaves children suspended and forced to spend weeks or even months without the supervision of an educational environment. According to the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) more than 3.25 million K-12 students are suspended at least once during their education. The NEPC also reported that nationally 28% of African American and 16% of Hispanic male middle school students are suspended each year, compared to 10% of White students.

Another factor influencing the increase in achievement gaps is the high rate of child poverty in the United States: the highest in any industrialized nation. Resseger finally asserted that segregation by economic class and a severe budget crisis are reasons for students falling away from the schoolhouse and walking towards the bars of a jailhouse.

All of these factors contribute to the alarming trend that leaves more children left behind in education and directed toward incarceration.

Pipeline Statistics

3.25 million students are suspended at least once before grade 12 [National Education Policy Center]
Of middle school males suspended each year: 28% are African American, 16% Hispanic, only 10% White. [National Education Policy Center]
22% of U.S. children are in poverty. [National Center for Children in Poverty]
In 2003, 16% of the youth prison population was African American. 45% of juveniles arrested were African American. [ACLU]
In 2009, delinquency rates for black juveniles were more than double rates for whites. [National Juvenile Court Data Archive]

Rev. Nolan followed Resseger's presentation, speaking about the increase in the mass incarceration of the American Youth. She reported that since 1980 the prison population has quintupled due to the perfect storm created by the demand for a war on drugs, the privatization of prisons, and the continued closure of mental institutions. The U.S. now imprisons a larger proportion of its citizens than any country in the world. What is most alarming about these statistics is that a large proportion of Americans in jail are youth, who come straight from the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse pipeline.

As more youth are directed to the prison population straight from so-called failing school districts, the correlation between incarceration and race is one that cannot be overlooked. Nolan reported that in 2003, African American youth made up a disproportionate amount of juvenile criminal cases compared to whites. Though the ACLU has not found sufficient evidence backing the claim that students of color misbehave to greater degree than white students, this distinct gap in incarnation rates continues to climb.

The message left by Resseger and Nolan was, however, a hopeful one. Both endorsed actions that can be done at a personal level to "clog up the pipeline." By working as an advocate for local public schools in order to give children a role in their own learning, Resseger hoped to inspire increased funding in education and more support for extracurricular activities. Nolan ended her presentation with a challenge to answer the ancient Masai greeting, "How are all the children?" by inspiring all people to work with advocates in order to truthfully respond "The children are well."

For more information on Public Education Reform, the American Justice System, and the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse pipeline, please see http://www.ucc.org/justice/issues.html

Kaeley J. McEvoy is a member of First Congregational Church of Woodbury and served this summer as a Youth and Young Adult Intern for the Connecticut Conference UCC.

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