Often, school to prison pipeline stands for the national situations and policies which lead students, and mostly the ones from unequal background to leave the institution from schools and end up in jails. Combatting this issue by advocating for meaningful political action that works on removing punitive disciplinary strategies, investing in supportive services, and coming up with viable alternatives for imprisonment will be necessary.
One political strategy that politicians require to face school-to-prison pipeline phenomenon is to restructure disciplining policies and practices that discriminate these groups, such as minorities, students with disabilities and others. This may imply adhering to the use of restorative justice techniques as well as employing fewer suspensions and expulsions. Furthermore, use of positive behaviors interventions and supports (PBIS) which represents a preventive approach over reactive, than punishment, would be emphasized.
Political leaders, for their part, must put resources into programs and services that surround students and facilitate, thus, restoration of the factors which either lead students to misbehave or to academic struggles. Funding for school psychiatrists, school counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals are some of the options. Besides using trauma-informed care and assistance for students who suffered adversity or other detrimental experiences can also be suitable.
Its beyond any doubt that policy makers may emphasize alternative to incarceration for nonviolent offences done on school compounds; these may include diversion programs, community-based restorative justice initiatives and youth-courts. The politicians could encourage the attention of young people away from criminal justice system and give them a chance to have rehabilitation and support. This could improve their life and youth development positively.
Additionally, we advocate for a political action to detangle the underlying causes for the school-to-prison pipeline, such as poverty, racism, and a lousy school settings. Such push would probably entail the advocacy for the laws which target the funding of schools among other social amenities so as to lessen the disparity, as well as interact transparently with the through programs which promote equitable education reforms which focus on the needs of the poor and the marginalized communities.
Moreover, law makers ought to grapple with the conceptions of overly militarized school establishments and influence policies aimed at demilitarizing such places.
In summing up answers to the school-to-prison pipeline, two main things must be done by the political leaders in terms of reforming disciplinary practices, investing in supportive interventions, finding alternatives to incarceration and making the roots of educational and societal disparities to the front to be addressed. Through the provision of equity-oriented education policies and practices, political leaders can foster learning environments in which students are given the opportunity to realize their potential and which have programs aimed at eliminating the means that lead to prison.
