Unit 6 Project: The American Legal System

1. Unit 6 Project: The American Legal System By: Danielle Miles- Langaigne

2. Imagine a world where schools took part in sending juveniles to prison ….

3. Are you done imagining because that actually happens here, on planet earth, in the U.S. ……

4. The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Endangering American Youth’s Future The school-to-prison pipeline is defined as a system of local, state and public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system. It’s called the school-to-prison pipeline because there’s a process of steps in which the student gets pushed out of their school and into the system. 5 Steps of the Pipeline: 1. Failing public schools 2. Zero Tolerance & Other School Discipline 3. Policing School Hallways 4. Sending Youth to Disciplinary Alternative Schools 5. Court Involvement & Juvenile Detention

5. The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Endangering American Youth’s Future (Cont.) “Why and how could schools push out students? That’s not even possible!”, you may be saying. Although it’s not very known, schools who have more graduates get more funds so they push out the students who show no potential (e.g. constantly getting bad grades). Schools push out kids by making them feel unwanted, not smart, by hiring inadequate teachers, and criminalizing youth.

6. Obviously, youth faces consequences because of the school-to-prison pipeline. I can easily list three of them!

7. 3 Consequences of the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Youngsters 3. Lastly, a consequence of the school-to-prison pipeline is juveniles who get involved in the juvenile justice system get their rights taken away. 1. A consequence of the school-to-prison pipeline is it results in youth dropping out of school because of repeated suspensions • 2. Another consequence of the school-to-prison pipeline is the detention halls have few to no education services so youth are robbed of an education

8. How TBA Contributes to the School-to-Prison Pipeline

9. The Juvenile Justice System The juvenile justice system is basically the youth version of adult system with slightly different rules and a different purpose. While the purpose of adult system is to punish, the juvenile justice system’s goal is to rehabilitate the youth that enter into its system.

10. Kids that get caught up in the juvenile justice system go through many different processes. For example, if the judge rules a juvenile guilty of a crime they committed then the juvenile will be ruled as a delinquent. After the juvenile is ruled as a delinquent they may get sent to a detention hall.

11. Challenges the Juvenile Justice System Faces & how the School-to-Prison Pipeline Contributes The juvenile justice system faces the challenge of the rate of recidivism tripling to 70%, the school-to-prison pipeline contributes to this by pushing youth out and adding onto the 2/3 people in prison without a high school GED. Another challenge the juvi. justice faces is over 200,000 kids go into adult prisons each year. The school-to-prison pipeline helps in making this happen by making students go through the pipeline resulting in their rights being taken away in court.

12. Alternative Discipline Plan for School Below are alternative ways to distribute discipline when needed that are more fair in dealing with different misbehavior in school.

13. Zero Tolerance Policies: My Opinion on the Subject What do I think about zero tolerance policies? Honestly, I think they are unfair & wrong. It’s as if I’m being punished & I cant stop it because it’s a rule to be punished immediately.

14. What do you think a disciplinary hearing should look like? What rights do you think students should have in the meeting? I think the meeting should look civilized and like a real trial. The student should (if they would like) have a lawyer/attorney present, the BPS Code of Discipline should be presented for the student and their attorney to look at, and only the discipline and headmaster should be there to represent the school.

15. Strategies & Programs that Would Prevent Push Out of Students 1. Giving the youth work/paying jobs is my 1st suggestion. If they have money as an incentive then they’ll not have to worry about taking other measures to get it, and it will teach them certain skills and morals that could benefit them in school. 3. Providing therapy/anger management to youth who need it in schools is my 3rdrecommendation. By giving students an outlet to express how they feel you’re allowing them to get off their chest any hurt so they will be less focused on that and more focused on working hard in school. 4. Making mentoring programs like Big Brother, Big Sister for older youth/students would be an amazing, life changing idea. Have a mentor and someone who has been in their positions, the students can have a positive role model to guide them and help them better themselves in school. 2. Making more recreational centers for teens/youth to go to also would be a great idea. By adding sports for them to play will make the juveniles feel like they have a place to get their anger out from school, and possibly get help with school related things. 5. Lastly, a strategy I recommend is making programs in schools that teaches kids different skills and topics that’ll help them not only in school but in life. If students know these skills and feel like they’re not an outsider, they wont feel the need to drop out.

16. What the Process for Students to Communicate with Teachers & Principals about feelings of being pushed out should look like … The process for students to communicate with school staff about feeling pushed out is talking to a guidance counselor or trusted teacher as soon as possible about their feelings. Staff should make students feel comfortable with expressing themselves so when they need or want to they can. Teachers/school staff should see if they’re able to help the student not feel the way they do.

17. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”- Unknown