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Today's Challenge: School-to-Prison Pipeline

You’ve likely heard of the term “school-to-prison pipeline,” and, if you haven’t, check out this infographic created by the ACLU. Most notably, this term is tied to the systems that funnel children, primarily children of color, from public schools into juvenile detention systems, and eventually prisons. Today, we will learn more about how school disciplinary policies disproportionately affect Black students, particularly Black girls. Stereotypes and misperceptions, which view Black girls as older, more mature, and more aggressive, have led to a lesser-discussed trend, the adultification of Black girls.

Attempts to counter these racial disparities in school discipline have manifested through various initiatives including Nashville Metro School’s PASSAGE initiative, which stands for “Positive and Safe Schools Advancing Greater Equity.” This teacher training initiative focused on non-punitive forms of discipline and helped tighten the standards on when administrators can suspend a child.

However, even after the investment of millions of dollars in PASSAGE and other reform efforts, the disparity has actually increased with Black students increased suspension rate over white students jumping from 2.7 times more likely in 2014-2015 to 3.1 times more likely in 2018-2019. Read this article about the five key takeaways from The Tennessean's investigation of racial disparities in school discipline in Metro Nashville Public Schools.