The school-to-prison pipeline is public health

This past summer, the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the Public Policy Research Institute of Texas A&M University released a wild study that tracked all seventh graders in Texas for six years.  

Of the roughly 1 million students followed, 15% were suspended or expelled 11 times or more, and half of that 15% were involved in the juvenile justice system.  Black and Latino students were more likely than White students to be subject to disciplinary action (75% and 65% vs. 47%, respectively).  

If that doesn't really surprise you (being familiar with other disparities research), wait for it: only 3% of disciplinary actions were for conduct in which state law mandates suspension or expulsion, the rest were made at the discretion of school officials.  26% of Black students had more than 11 discretionary disciplinary actions, compared to 18% of Latino students and 10% of White students. The percentages of Black, Latino, and White students committing serious offenses subject to mandatory removal from school were low and comparable.  In other words, almost all disciplinary action was discretionary, and disproportionately directed at students of color.  

In addition to painting a chilling picture of how our systems of social and racial control are broad, interconnected, and assert their grasp early in the life course, the school-to-prison pipeline is a clear-cut public health disaster. 60% of students disciplined 11 times or more did not graduate from high school, and 31% of students disciplined one or more times repeated their grade at least once.  Public health researchers and practitioners are well aware of the relationship between education and health, but APHAC can help connect these dots to the criminal justice system. 

[All stats paraphrased from Breaking Schools' Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates to Students' Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement]