DoubleTakeDoubleTake
Research Alert
School Behavior—Criminalized
Disrupting the classroom, using profanity, misbehaving on the bus, getting into
a fight, or playing hooky once meant a
trip to the principal’s office. In Texas, it
can result in a misdemeanor and a trip
to the courthouse.
According to a recent report, Texas’
School-to-Prison Pipeline: Ticketing, Arrest,
and Use of Force in Schools, the growing presence of police officers in Texas
schools has resulted in more ticketing
charges for behavior problems that
school officials used to handle. The
practice of sending students to court is
increasing their chances of entering the
justice system.
“Texas can interrupt this destructive
cycle,” the authors write, “and prevent
the loss of more young people to the
school-to-prison pipeline through early
intervention focused less on punishment
and more on creating positive school
environments that address students’
academic and behavioral needs” (p. 2).
Other findings include the following:
Where a student attends school—
not the nature of the offense—is the
greater predictor of whether the student
will be ticketed or arrested at school.
Black and Hispanic students are
overrepresented in ticketing, school-based arrests, and use-of-force incidents
at school.
It’s not unusual for elementary
school–age children, some under the
age of 10, to receive misdemeanor tickets or even be arrested at school.
School police officers are armed
with pepper spray, Tasers, guns, and
canines—and they’re using these on
students.
Among its many recommendations,
the report suggests that schools adopt
schoolwide positive behavior supports;
train school-based law enforcement
personnel in issues specific to youth;
prohibit ticketing students under the
age of 14; and create or expand effective
prevention and intervention programs,
such as peer mediation and restorative
practices, as alternatives to ticketing.
Texas’ School-to-Prison Pipeline:
Ticketing, Arrest, and Use of Force is the
third in a series by social justice advocacy group Texas Appleseed. The series
explores the effect of school disciplinary policies on school dropout rates
and future involvement in the juvenile
justice system. The report is available at http://cbsdallas.files.wordpress
.com/2011/01/ticketing_booklet_web
.pdf.
Relevant Reads
The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love,
Character, and Achievement by David Brooks
(Random House, 2011)
Through the story of one fictional couple—Harold and
Erika—author David Brooks explores the “deeply social”
nature of the human mind. Scientific research on the
brain, he writes, tells us that character is not determined
by reason and intellect alone. Rather, it’s formed in the
unconscious mind—the realm of emotions, intuitions,
biases, longings, genetic predispositions, personality
traits, and social norms. As we look into the unconscious,
we realize that social connections make us who we are.
Although the book deals only fleetingly with formal
8 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP / SEPTEMBER 2011
schooling, Brooks does have two
suggestions for educators: School
leaders should recognize that
formal organizational structures
are less important in determining
school climate than are the
complex personal relationships
among students, and schools
should place more emphasis on character education.
“Children are coached on how to jump through a thousand scholastic hoops. Yet by far the most important decisions they
will make are about whom to marry and whom to befriend, what
to love and what to despise, and how to control impulses. On
these matters, they are almost entirely on their own.”;(p. xiv)
