5 Horrible Examples of the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Across all grade levels, Black students represent about 16 percent of the overall student population, but are 32-42 percent of students who face out-of-school suspension, 27 percent of students referred to law enforcement and 31 percent of students who experience a school-related arrest. Black students are suspended or expelled at a rate three times higher than white students. 20 percent of black boys and 12 percent of black girls face out-of-school suspensions. This is where the school-to-prison pipeline starts. The Phantom Gangbanger Dontadrian Bruce, a student at Olive Branch High School in Mississippi's DeSoto County, was suspended for five months, most of the school year, after being accused of being a gangbanger by school administrators. The school's proof? He flashed "gang signs" in a picture with classmates. The only problem was, his supposed gang signs was him putting up his number on the school's football team—holding up his thumb, forefinger and middle finger. Autistic Girl Jailed for Running Away Krystin Polk, a 13-year-old with autism, attends the Magnolia School for special education students in DeSoto County, Miss. After Krystin ran away from the school twice in one day, Magnolia staff enlisted school resource officer (SRO) Robert "Scooter" Rayborn to help locate her. But when he caught her, Rayborn placed the little girl in handcuffs, claiming she lashed out when he grabbed her arm, and wound up dragging her to a county detention facility. She wounding up spending the night in jail, detained for 24 hours. An Imbalance in Los Angeles In 2009, the Los Angeles Unified School District reported the following numbers for out-of-school suspensions: 62% Hispanic students, 33% Black students, 3% white and 2% Asian. But the district's racial breakdown looks quite different: 72.3% Hispanic, 10.1% white, 9.6% African American and 4% Asian. West Valley's Numbers Out of Whack In 2009, the West Valley School District in Spokane, WA, expelled 20% Black students and 60% white students and offered no educational services. The West Valley School district consisted of 86% white students and 4% Black students. In New Orleans, 100% Black Expulsions In New Orleans, the Orleans Parish School Board’s expulsions under zero tolerance policies were 100% Black in 2009. The breakdown in the district: 89% African American, 6% white and 6% other.

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