I came across an article on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) website regarding the School-To-Prison Pipeline. There was also a video attache, entitled "Gone Too Far: Our Kid in Handcuffs," that told one student's story of a zero tolerance policy. This student was caught with a "Hit List" that was created in jest and was sentenced to a 180-day school suspension. The student had always received wonderful feedback from teachers as well as administrators. He was well-liked and hard-working. However, he is now struggling with depression and falling a year behind his classmates. The ACLU "believes that children should be educated, not incarcerated."
Nieto and Bode write, "following removal from school, many students experience enormous diffi-
culty in reentering," (p. 268) which will clearly apply to the student featured in this video. Not only is he facing severe repercussions for a joke, but he will continue to face those repercussions through the reentry process. This has reminded me that zero tolerance policies not only affect the student during the assigned punishment period, but also in the time following that period. I will be sure to discourage the practice of zero tolerance policies as well as other policies that encourage the school-to-prison pipeline. Students face enough hardships without being treated like hardened criminals at every turn.
Website - https://www.aclu.org/school-prison-pipeline
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gEMslXo_3Ig
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