The school to prison pipeline is increasing being fueled by zero-tolerance policies. AlterNet reports:
It’s a pipeline that consumes some students more than others; students of color and disabled students are being suspended, expelled, and sent into the justice system at much higher rates than their white, nondisabled counterparts. Growing criticism of zero-tolerance policies has highlighted the way they ruin lives, burden the justice system and create more work for everyone, with experts like the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) noting that “research [on such policies] indicates that, as implemented, zero tolerance policies are ineffective in the long run and are related to a number of negative consequences, including increased rates of school drop-out and discriminatory application of school discipline practices.”
The chronic school funding crisis in Philadelphia is putting more students of color, particularly black boys, at risk. Meanwhile, the state Department of Corrections is constructing a $400 million prison complex in Graterford, which is located less than an hour from the headquarters of the School District of Philadelphia.
Guess who will fill those seats?
