North Carolina policymakers and the media are increasingly focused on high school graduation and drop-out rates as bellwether indicators for the health of the state's education system and the future of its student population. The causes of and potential solutions for high school drop-out have become arguably the most-discussed education topics in the state.
But the term "drop-out" can be misleading. It suggests that a student has made a conscious decision to end his school career, which is often not the case. The public discussion of drop-out tends to ignore the reality of push-out – harsh school discipline policies that move students, against their wills, out of school and, often, into the court system. This system of zero-tolerance discipline policies, combined with increased cooperation between schools and law enforcement, has been dubbed the School to Prison Pipeline and is well-documented nationally.
North Carolina faces a similar situation to states across the nation. Under-resourced schools, harsh school discipline, increased policing of school hallways and a lack of adequate alternative education placements have created a school to prison pipeline that is moving far too many of our students – a disproportionate number of them African-American males – into the court system.
But North Carolina differs from the rest of the nation on a crucial point – while 48 other states handle minors in the juvenile justice system, North Carolina's criminal justice system treats all youth over the age of 15 as adults, with no exceptions or reverse waivers. As a result, the pipeline from school to prison in North Carolina is one stop shorter than in neighboring states. Without even the buffer of the juvenile justice system to provide treatment, rehabilitation and family counseling, childish pranks or adolescent behavior by North Carolina's high schoolers can lead them directly to adult court and a permanent criminal record.
There is no silver bullet solution to the state's school to prison pipeline, particularly since the pipeline to prison for many children begins before birth. This "cradle to prison pipeline" includes numerous risk factors that set children up to fail, such as historical inequities, pervasive poverty, inadequate access to health insurance and health care, lack of early education, abuse and neglect, unmet mental and emotional problems, and inadequate public schools. These risk factors disproportionately affect children of color. Consider that, in the U.S.:
- Black children are four times as likely as white children to live in extreme poverty.
- One out of five Latino children and one of our eight black children are uninsured, compared to one out of 13 white children.
- Black children represent 32 percent of children in foster care, but only 15 percent of all children.
By the time they reach middle- and high-school, poor children and children of color have already long been fighting the tide of disadvantage. These most vulnerable of our children are then the ones most often caught up in their schools' unyielding discipline policies, dragging them yet one step closer to involvement with the criminal justice system. A white boy born in 2001 has a 1 in 17 chance of going to prison in his lifetime. A Latino boy has a 1 in 6 chance; a black boy a 1 in 3 chance.
Health insurance, access to health care, high quality early education, refundable tax credits and access to high quality prevention and intervention services for all children would begin to narrow these gaps. Schools could help by eliminating zero tolerance policies for all but the most dangerous behaviors; reducing suspensions and expulsions, particularly for children with disabilities; and setting limits on the roles of law enforcement officers patrolling school hallways. Raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 16 to 18 would ensure that minors are handled in the system best suited to their developmental stage, giving them the structure and resources to make better choices going forward.
For North Carolina to be competitive in the increasingly global economy of the 21st century, the state will need all the human capital it can foster. Talking about the drop-out rate is a good idea. Taking measurable steps to reduce it is an even better one.
Barbara Bradley is the President and CEO of Action for Children North Carolina.
