School-to-prison pipeline hurts kids

Dan Walters’article “L.A. new front in education war,” (Nov. 21) told how the Broad Foundation proposes a $490 million plan to shift half of the district’s students into charter schools in hopes of improving outcomes. This idea is brought upon the low academic achievements of Latino and black students.

The real problem is the way school discipline system is set up. It’s simple: the way the school system works either benefits or affects the students. Harsh, zero-tolerance policies in schools lead to more suspensions, expulsions and even in school arrests.

People neglect the reality of how school can be a pathway to the juvenile system. Research shows that a person of color is more likely to be disciplined for the same act than their peers. The school-to-prison pipeline is a term that describes how American kids get pushed out of public school into the juvenile- and criminal-justice systems.

The focus needs to be in the foundation of the school. Administrators should focus instead on “restorative justice,” in which students take responsibility for misconduct to avoid harsher punishment.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 6:47 AM with the headline "School-to-prison pipeline hurts kids."