SCHOOL–TO-PRISON PIPELINE
Research Paper –Topic
The Topic I chose for my research paper is “Investigating the School-to-Prison Pipeline and
How it Disproportionately Affects Minority and Disadvantaged Students”. This is a subject that
is close to my heart since I’m the mother of four African American children, one of whom is an
adult. My oldest attended and graduated from the public school system as a Governor’s School
Honor student with a full college scholarship. This did not come without many battles with the
school administration and school board for truth and transparency. If my son did not have his
father and I to fight for him during his elementary, middle and high school years, I believe he
could have very well been a product of the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Studies have shown that
youth in the School-to-Prison Pipeline (also referred to as STPP) comprise a disproportionate
number of minorities and those in poverty. (Houchins & Shippen, 2012) This research also
shows a startling overrepresentation of incarcerated youth with mental health problems.
Houchins & Shippen (2012) estimated that 60% of youth in Juvenile Justice exhibit three or
more comorbid mental conditions. Fenning & Rose (2007) states “students who are primarily
poor ethnic minority students and those with academic problems are removed primarily for
nonviolent infractions found in the school discipline policy”. The increase of use of social media
has highlighted several incidents where class disruption or defiant behavior was treated as a
criminal issue rather than a school infraction. According to Skiba, Horner, Chung, Rausch &
Tobin, “for over 25 years, in national-, state-, district- and building-level data, students of color
have been found to be suspended at rates two to three times that of other student, and similarly
overrepresented in office referrals, corporal punishment, and school expulsion”. I would like to
study more on this subject and look identify ways to change policies in my home state so we can
help these young people reach their full potential.
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SCHOOL–TO-PRISON PIPELINE
Fenning, P & Rose, J. (2007). Overrepresentation of African American Students in Exclusionary
Discipline: The Role of the School. Urban Education, 42(6), 536-559.
doi: 10.1177/0042085907305039
Houchins, David E. & Shippen, Margaret E. (2012) Welcome to a Special Issue About the
School-To-Prison Pipeline: The Pathway to Modern Institutionalization. Teacher
Education and Special Education, 35(4), 265-270. doi: 10.1177/0888406412462141
Skiba, R. J., Horner, R. H., Chung, C., Rausch, M. K., May, S. L., & Tobin, T. (2011). Race is
not neutral: A national investigation of African American and Latino disproportionality
in School Discipline. School Psychology Review, 40(1), 85-107. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/docview/860230091/fulltextPDF?
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