School-to-Prison Pipeline The school-to-prison pipeline can be defined as the relationship between policies/practices put in place in schools and the likeliness of students facing involvement in the criminal justice system. There are policies and practices that drive students out of school and into prison, both directly and indirectly. This pipeline's elements contribute to the connection between school and prison. The elements that have the most significant impact are racial and ethnic disparities, police in school, zero tolerance discipline, implementation of frequent suspension and harsh discipline, and normal adolescent behavior being criminalized. Students of color are disproportionately affected by these policies. According to the School …show more content…
When compared to white children, black students miss nearly five times as many days of school due to out-of-school suspensions. Due to students missing school and missing work, this is creating more students who do not complete their education, which makes for a more likely chance to face negative outcomes such as poverty, poor health, or incarceration. The type of school discipline that creates disparities can relate to differences in learning opportunities. The harsher the discipline, the more disparities students may have in learning. It is a difficult system to escape for those students who are eventually reprimanded within the school-to-prison …show more content…
School social workers are able to recognize the dysfunction in school settings and advocate for system change. They are able to effectively intervene in reducing these children's and adolescents' out-of-school placements. The social work profession, which operates within these practices and policies, has a responsibility to learn about these issues in their local communities, pinpoint what needs to change, and pave the way in juvenile courts and schools for the inclusion and rehabilitation of these children rather than depriving them of their right to an