How School Discipline Feeds the School-to-Prison Pipeline.

Pownall, S. A, B, C, D, STPP: How School Discipline Feeds the School-to-Prison Pipeline. New York Civil Liberties Union, 1-68.

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This report reviews the policies and practices that produced these results and provides recommendations to help end the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) in New York City, and for the first time, links school suspension to NYPD stop-and-frisk patterns in four out of five boroughs. Research consistently demonstrates the importance of keeping students with the greatest academic and economic needs in school. Report findings include:

• Racial disparities among students suspended, where black students represent 60% of all school arrests yet only make up one-third of the student population.
• Students that live in neighborhood where the “stop-and-frisk” practice is high are more likely to be suspended from school.
• Students on free and reduced lunch constitute two-thirds of New York City student population, but serve 75% of total suspensions.
• District 7 in the South Bronx had the highest suspension rate in the city and also the highest enrollment of low-income students

This report also offers recommendations such as ending zero-tolerance in schools and the criminalization of students, implementing positive behavior support in all schools, informing families and students of their legal rights, increasing the quality of training of school officers and other police personnel that work in schools.