Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline [downloadable]

The “school-to-prison pipeline” is a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This is enabled by policies and practices from the school to district, state, and federal levels. Many of the children most impacted by this “push out” have learning disabilities, histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.

The data on this phenomenon is alarming:

• Every year, 2.8 million students in the U.S. are suspended from school, causing them to miss critical learning time.
• Students of color are disproportionately impacted; black students are nearly four times as likely to be suspended and expelled for the same infractions as white students.
• Students with disabilities and twice as likely to be suspended as students without disabilities.
• Hundreds of preschoolers are suspended every year for age-appropriate behavior.

Learn more about this topic and what can be done to shift this practice. Download the School-to-Prison Pipeline fact sheet created by the nonprofit organization MomsRising. A Spanish language version is also available.

To schedule an evaluation or to get advice about your child’s challenges, call or email a CHC Care Manager at 650.688.3625 or caremanager@chconline.org