By Erica Zucco
KOB
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As policymakers and community groups grapple with how to stop children and teenagers from getting into trouble, some advocates say it’s also time to address a concept called the “school to prison pipeline.”
The pipeline is a concept that some researchers say involves kids and teenagers being slapped with harsh discipline for punishments without substantial resources for fixing the roots of their problems.
“When you think about the kinds of situations that bring on suspensions and expulsions, one time these were for drugs on campus, carrying weapons, and now happen more often than they should,” said Dr. Tom Dauphinee of the University of New Mexico Center for Education Policy Research. “They’re about acting out, maybe talking back to the teacher, smoking on campus, other kinds of things like that, behavior problems.”
Full story: Researchers, advocates define “school to prison pipeline”