In a 2013 Washington Post article titled “11 Facts about America’s Prison Population,” Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas reported that there were more than 2.4 million Americans behind bars, meaning that more than one out of every 100 Americans is in prison.
The U.S. prison population is not only the largest in the world, according to the BBC, but it trumps second-place China by more than half a million prisoners. Of those imprisoned in the U.S., 80 percent are high school dropouts. This indicates that the issue of mass incarceration in America begins in our schools.
Discipline policies in public schools throughout the country have consequences for all students. Florida students suspended at least once in ninth grade, according to a 2013 article in Education Week, have a 52 percent graduation rate, compared to a 75 percent graduation rate for peers who were never suspended. Students suspended twice during their ninth grade year have a meager 38 percent graduation rate.
Of those students who drop out of high school, one in 10 will end up in prison, compared to one in 35 high school graduates, according to a New York Times article. These statistics highlight how the consequences of certain school disciplinary policies contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.
This pipeline is primarily constructed by decisions to discipline children in ways that increase the likelihood that they will drop out and move from the school system to the prison system. Minority, special-needs and LGBTQ students, who are at a high risk of dropping out, are disproportionately suspended in schools throughout the U.S. and consequently make up a large part of the school-to-prison pipeline. For example, special-needs students make up 25 percent of arrests at schools despite making up only 12 percent of the total school population, according to a New York Times Article. Black students, who make up 18 percent of the school population, account for 35 percent of students suspend once and 46 percent of those suspended more than once.
Zero-tolerance disciplinary policies were designed to deter aggressive behavior in the wake of the shooting at Columbine High School in the hope that harsher punishments would prevent future mass violence in schools. Harsh disciplinary policies such as the zero-tolerance policy have done little to limit mass violence and, over the years, have been applied most frequently to non-violent offenses such as tardiness, dress code violations and disruptive behavior.
A 2011 report from the National Education Policy Center found that 5 percent of suspensions nationwide were for drugs or weapons, while 95 percent were for “disruptive behavior” or “other” non-violent offenses. Zero-tolerance policies and other harsh disciplinary measures create the illusion of safety through immediate reaction to perceived misbehavior. Responses under zero-tolerance policies fail to address the causes of misbehavior and miss a critical point for behavioral intervention that could positively alter a student’s future trajectory.
Schools from rural, urban and suburban communities throughout America push students out of school and into the prison system every day. How many prisoners could be leading productive lives within the laws of society if they had been able to complete their degrees? How many students have we had to spend taxpayer money on to reeducate after they were forced out of schools? One thing is for certain: The school-to-prison pipeline is hurting all students in our country today and is already negatively affecting the future of our society.
Ben Mathes is a sophomore studying political science and a former Post reporter. Renée Hagerty is a senior studying political science and the advocacy coordinator for Students For Education Reform.
