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California and Juvenile Justice
While as a nation, the juvenile arrest rate peaked in 1996 and declined by 70% in 2016, California has the highest rate of incarceration/arrests for minors.16 According to a report by Attorney General Kamala Harris, a total of 71,923 juveniles were arrested in 2015, of which 80.7% were turned over to probation and 29.7% were felony arrests.17 Assuming the statistics did not significantly improve, approximately 30% of those arrested suffer from mental health issues.18 This type of “big picture’ view of California’s juvenile justice is however, changing. After support from advocates and visibility brought by Common’s visit to Sacramento, many of the “Equity and Justice” reforms to the juvenile justice system were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown last year and efforts to alter criminal sentencing laws continue in 2018.19 Beginning with Proposition 57’s passage which allowed all but the most serious crimes to be sent to juvenile court as opposed to the harsher get-tough policies in Proposition 21, California is poised to reform many aspects of juvenile justice making this unit a timely one.20 My students are always highly engaged when we approach the topic of what it means to be a juvenile in the eyes of the law and the rights and responsibilities therein.
Punishment of criminal behavior in adults traditionally serves four functions: incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation.21 Colonial society did not have a separate juvenile justice system and resorted to corporal punishment in most cases. Initial efforts to begin a separate juvenile justice system were founded in the environmental theory that crime was a result of the social milieu and therefore rehabilitation required isolation.22 Hence, the establishment of a separate juvenile justice court in 1899 was founded in the desire to rehabilitate, not punish in an environment where these youth wouldn’t be corrupted by hardened adult criminals. Creation of specialized courts, highly informal proceedings, and supervised probation were all aspects of the focus on providing developmentally appropriate responses to delinquency and rehabilitating children was one of the primary goals.23
Minority families and communities are plagued with disproportionate rates of involvement with youth in all stages of the juvenile justice system despite the evidence that punitive measures do not reduce crime. The need to combat the physically brutal environments in which we detain youth amid a palpable atmosphere of hopelessness needs to change to one reminiscent of the initial purpose of a juvenile court system-mercy and rehabilitation.24 “Instead, our nation's leaders must work with advocates and key stakeholders on the national, state, and local level to incorporate the concept of rehabilitation and detention alternatives back into a juvenile justice system that has come to represent a system of hopelessness and despair for too many people.”25
Adolescent Brain Development
If we know that the areas of the brain the control decision making processes and impulsivity are still developing, might we not view and respond to juvenile crime in a different fashion? Brain science can show us why youth behavior is so volatile as they experiment and these crucial understandings can help us to offer appropriate interventions that will reduce future recidivism as opposed to solely punitive measures. Recognizing the social, economic, and political factors that impact the physical and mental well-being of my students creates a compassionate perspective that then reminds me that adolescent brain development students have concluded that teens problem-solving and decision-making capacities are not fully developed. On the road to developing self-efficacy, self-agency, identity, autonomy, and significant intimate relationships adolescents brain development is dramatic and this process will take until they reach maturation around age 25.26 The brain develops from the back to the front, with the cerebellum, an area that controls physical coordination, developing first. The amygdala, which controls emotion is followed by the nucleus accumbens, which is associated with motivation. The last area to develop is the prefrontal cortex, which controls judgment. Dopamine (a chemical affecting memory, concentration, problem solving and pleasure centers) levels shift, the limbic system (associated with processing emotion and managing motivation) is still developing, as is the prefrontal cortex (the area that governs executive functions of reasoning and impulse control).27 So as teachers, we often see the results of this process in the erratic behaviors, rebellious acts or even outright defiance of our students. It is imperative that we understand that while it is important to teach responsibility and accountability for one’s actions, it is also imperative that we encourage the process of providing teens with opportunities to express their individuality and practice making adult decisions without high-stakes outcomes.
It may also prove beneficial for both teachers and youth themselves to understand adolescent brain development. Students are taught about the physical and hormonal changes that are occurring in their bodies, but not about how their mind develops. Understanding that teenagers are not merely in possession of less life experiences than adults, but that their brains are actually fundamentally different is an essential understanding that is a necessary precursor to looking at juvenile justice in a different light. If prevention is a priority, key developmental assets we could strengthen include: family communication, non-parental adult role models, peer role models, good health practices, time spent in group activities, community involvement, responsible choices, and aspirations for the future.28 This highlights the importance of teachers as role models and how role playing might help students practice the ability to judge situations and evaluate potential consequences. As my students feel cannabis is a safe recreational drug, I intend to use an article to remind them that this substance is illegal for the reason that it affects a developing adolescent brain differently than an adult and may have detrimental effects of brain resting functional connectivity, intelligence, and cognitive function. 29
ACEs
Given many of the policies and procedures contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline are not within a classroom teachers’ purview, it behooves us to consider what we can control. Understanding our most vulnerable populations and the psychological resources they devote to merely surviving is an imperative for any educator. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Research Study (ACEs) study led by Nadine Burke Harris is introduced in a really accessible manner to both teachers and students in the TED talk she gave in September of 2014. The ACEs included asking adults questions about history of exposure to ACEs such as physical/ emotional/ sexual abuse/ neglect, physical/ emotional neglect, parental mental illness, substance dependence, incarceration, parental separation/divorce, or domestic abuse violence. Each “yes” earns a point towards your score. ACEs are surprisingly common among Americans with 67% of the population scoring at least a one, and the health outcomes for those with a higher ACE score was more likely to have greater risk of negative health outcomes.30 It was measurably provable that the physiology of students who endure severe childhood trauma has negative effects and in fact, affects the mind and bodies for a lifetime because their stress response systems have been repeatedly activated.
Caring adults and a safe educational setting that offers access to services is absolutely necessary when you consider the work on ACEs. Children with a higher score on ACEs struggle to calm themselves when provoked, find it harder to concentrate, and otherwise struggle to succeed in a traditional academic environment. Making sure these students are receiving health and mental services and providing the best possible environment will increase the chance that these students will enjoy improved health.31 It helps to understand that our student isn’t necessarily being deliberately defiant when he refuses to sit still or concentrate.
The School to Prison Pipeline
In 2013 Senator Richard Durbin addressed a subcommittee about the issue he felt was pushing students out of the classroom and into the courtroom. “For many young people, our schools are increasingly a gateway to the criminal justice system. What is especially concerning about this phenomenon is that it deprives our kids of their fundamental right to an education.”32 Approaching the topic of reforming the justice system in America appropriately begins with our youth as they are the most vulnerable and also an accessible means of stemming the tide given the science that suggests rehabilitation is highly achievable. The school to prison pipeline is an incendiary metaphor reminding us of the failure of our public institutions to meet the increasing social-emotional and educational needs of our at-risk youth. How a school chooses to prevent and respond to student behaviors may increase their risk of punitive involvement with the justice system.33 The educational policies currently in place (especially in under-resourced public schools) increase the likelihood that certain segments of our population will ultimately be incarcerated by a punitive (as opposed to rehabilitative) justice system. Low income students are disproportionately affected as demonstrated by the 2013 statistic that in schools where more than 80% of the students qualify as low-income, the average arrest rate is seven times higher than in school where fewer than 20% of the students qualified as low-income.34 The true tragedy is that this is not only a numbers game, but amongst those students are our most vulnerable populations of foster kids, homeless youth, low-income youth, English language learners, students of color, and students with disabilities.35
Think about it. If little Jimmy has trouble reading, he’s going to act out in class to avoid being embarrassed to demonstrate that he reads on a fifth grade level in the ninth grade. So Jimmy misbehaves and is sent out of the class. After a few days of this pattern, Jimmy commits an act egregious enough to be punished with suspension. The pattern continues with Jimmy, a child already academically behind his peers, being removed from the structured educational setting and furthering the statistical likelihood that he will eventually drop out, commit a crime, and be incarcerated as an adult.36 Teachers deserve to receive high quality instruction in classroom management so that they can find alternatives to manage his behaviors. If the student never leaves the classroom, the pipeline doesn’t get fed. Individual teachers who fail to participate in programs like Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) or focus on managing behavior in the classroom should understand that subjectively assessed conduct like “insubordination”, “disruptive behavior”, “inappropriate language” and such are all common causes for students entering the pipeline.37 A teacher advocate who wants to disrupt the pipeline could focus on finding non punitive means of handling discipline and furthermore be aware that children of color find themselves disproportionately punished for these types of subjective behaviors and are subject to more harsh and punitive measures.38 Furthermore, the simple act of tutoring as a support for our vulnerable students could be profoundly impactful in reducing student misbehavior.39
In fact, as far back as 2007, the Southern Law Poverty Center discovered that nearly 85% of youth in juvenile detention facilities qualified for special education services, yet only 37% had been received them prior to their incarceration.40 The implication of this to a classroom teacher is clear: there is a need for us to advocate on behalf of our students to be tested and provided adequate services. While keeping potentially disruptive at-risk students in the classroom poses unique discipline challenges in a room full of students who need to learn, we are uniquely positioned to effect change in the pipeline by stemming the flow through the use of behavior intervention and supports. Adopting a social emotional lens to evaluation the behavior and utilizing cultural competency is one means of resisting the lure of punitive measures.41
School Based Student Discipline
Some of the factors that contribute to the likelihood that students will end up “in the pipeline” include overcrowded classrooms, insufficient support for special education students, racially or socioeconomically segregated populations, the use of zero-tolerance policies in school and the increased use of police on campuses (also called school resource officers or SROs), which also has the consequence of student misconduct increasingly resulting in an arrest.42 The principle issue with SROs on campus is that while teachers and administrators primary focus is on social emotional learning and academics, SROs are focused on enforcing the law. At-risk students in under resourced schools will likely struggle to retain sufficient highly-qualified teachers to help these at-risk populations and even may push them out of the classroom as a result of the increasing test-driven accountability in our country. “These push-outs range from non-disciplinary measures, such as disenrolling truant youth from high school or counselors encouraging struggling students to enroll in GED programs, to harsher forms of exclusion, including frequent suspensions, expulsions, and school-based arrests.”43
Zero tolerance policies are perhaps one of the most damaging aspects of the pipeline as federal laws often do not allow for case-by-case exceptions. The concept is a result of a philosophy that the protection of the many outweighs the rights of the few in the sense that any perceived threat to student safety is to be punished swiftly and absolutely. They often are employed to react to violence or weapons on campus and require suspension for a specified period of time and do not allow administration or teachers to address the circumstances of the violation or the best interests of the student.44 The zero-tolerance policies that are currently in place do nothing to address the underlying issues causing undesirable behaviors, and instead funnel them to the criminal justice system. “The point is not that we should have less security or discipline in public schools, but that we should impose security and discipline policies that are supported as sound practice by evidence, and we should do so thoughtfully rather than reactively.”45
Providing additional tutoring to students who misbehave might help actually resolve the behavior if they have the ability to engage in the classroom content. Referring students to counseling might be another simple step teachers can take to help them receive the supports they require. Nutrition and any other aspect of meeting the need to our most disadvantaged youth should be a priority for all teachers. This is also further reason to support your administration in their efforts to implement any type of positive cultural change that empowers youth such as PBIS or Restorative Justice. Alternative punishments that don’t exclude students from schools and even help to resolve the underlying issues is invaluable. Another minor intervention with proven benefit is for teachers to strive to build relationships and bridges with families so that you become “allies rather than adversaries or onlookers, and demonstrate to students that they care.46
One alternative to our current school culture focused so heavily on academics might be to make empathy, compassion, and taking responsibility for our community values we actively teach.47 In fact, some core values that have been demonstrably proven to benefit students include a demonstrable attitude of care for others, honoring commitments, showing respect, demonstrating responsibility, accountability and professionalism and being willing to change.48
Implicit Bias
Hidden bias may result in prejudicial behavior, discrimination, and perpetuating stereotypes. The fact that prejudice underlies so many of the statistics related to the juvenile justice system makes it evident that implicit bias against persons of color is a reality we must confront. For example, when white and minority youth are charged with the same crime, Latino youth are three times, and African American youth are six times more likely to be incarcerated than their Caucasian counterparts.49 I further urge teachers to consider that “most school disciplinary incidents are low-level, subjectively defined behaviors--such as disorderly conduct, disrespect, or defiance, which are largely dependent on teacher’ perceptions of youth--the importance of racialized perceptions of youth in shaping school discipline becomes even clearer.”50 Endemic racial prejudice is a reality we must acknowledge and openly discuss. By deliberately grouping students in cross-race groups, consciously choosing positive role models of various ethnicities, and talking explicitly about race and the effects of racism, teachers can begin to reduce racial bias.
Victor Rios is an especially valuable resource for the Bay Area teacher as he focused on Latino youth in Oakland through a series of studies and observation wherein he concludes that parents, teachers, authorities at school, and the police combine to create a community culture that criminalizes youth behaviors. In fact, he posits that some youth may find not only safety and economic opportunity in gangs but also solace as there is some level of cultural empowerment in rejecting the mainstream society that rejected them.51 Aggressive police tactics such as those employed in Oakland actually serve to heighten the risk of youth entering the school to prison pipeline. Considering the history of racialization and colonization of Latinos in the U.S. Southwest might also have sociological implications when my students parents are employed by the elite of Silicon Valley.52 He further suggests that low-income Latino youth face deeper scrutiny for their appearance and actions and are subject to harsher punitive measures for deviant behaviors.53 If youth are faced with the choice of differing frames, it is incumbent upon us to provide affirmation, resources, and support that exceeds that of alternative lifestyle that leads to less positive outcomes for our students. If school culture represent authority figures who offer disapproval, are unaccepting of their cultural expressions, and don’t make them feel a sense of belonging, it follows that they will turn to gangs or other frames that offer affirmation.54 “Many youths defaulted to street life only after suffering rejection from multiple institutions--family, schools, police, and the labor market.”55 Informal mentoring, genuine and friendly welcome in both verbal and body language, referral to services, treating all students fairly, and creating a culture of respect, and allowing self-expression may be more significant than any of us realized.
Conclusion
What is justice? Too often our society has an immediate knee-jerk reaction to think prison time is the only appropriate consequence for a criminal. I posit that if you approach it from a purely fiscal standpoint recidivism and the expense of imprisoning our population is obviously not sustainable.56 Furthermore, if recidivism is rampant, surely we must consider that our prisons are solely punishing individuals as opposed to offering rehabilitation this might be what James Forman, Jr. calls the human rights crisis of our generation.57 While this is clearly an issue that no schoolteacher can resolve, we can assign alternative disciple for misconduct within our classroom and advocate for our students when appropriate. I believe the expense, recidivism, and human cost of incarceration are precluding us from collectively achieving the American dream. Hence, I am led to wonder if the greater evil is the criminal act that led to incarceration or the lack of rehabilitation.58 If prison is not the best outcome for the individual, the community, or the interests of justice, alternative programs that provide accountability but also reform and rehabilitate the individual are the obvious response.59
In his book Locking Up Our Own, James Forman Jr. asks, “What if we strove for compassion, for mercy, for forgiveness?60 Our justice system.. needs comprehensive systemic change, and beginning by reforming the juvenile justice system seems a natural first step. This unit has been designed to both inform and develop alternative means for students to consider juvenile justice such that they can be informed voters, as well as to offer teachers an opportunity to find means by which to stem the flow of the school-to-prison pipeline at its source. “Research consistently shows that schools with positive, inclusive school climates have less crime and disorder than others…[which] means that misbehavior problems are lower in schools where students feel respected and listened to, and where students feel close bonds to teachers and other staff; when schools are a place of caring, respect, and inclusion.”61 Turn off the faucet by endeavoring to keep as many students in your classroom as possible and have faith that, “In the wealthiest society in the world, we have the resources and the creativity to promote public safety without relying primarily on prisons.”62 Funneling students towards diplomas as opposed to the juvenile justice system should be a goal of all teachers. Our young offenders are part of our future and they deserve the opportunity to be rehabilitated with the services and supports that may have been previously lacking so that they can successfully re engage in family, school, and community life.
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