School-to-Prison Pipeline

The ACLU is committed to challenging the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.

“Zero-tolerance” policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules, while cops in schools lead to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school. Students of color are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the discriminatory application of discipline.

The ACLU believes that children should be educated, not incarcerated. We are working to challenge numerous policies and practices within public school systems and the juvenile justice system that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.

Learn more:

• The Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project
  • Report: Charter Schools, School Discipline and Civil Rights: A Comprehensive Study (March 16, 2016)
  • Report: Are We Closing the School Discipline Gap? (February 2015)
• Dignity in Schools (Dignity in Schools Campaign)
• ACLU's School-to-Prison Pipeline Game

• Gone Too Far: Our Kids in Handcuffs [VIDEO]