Dismantling the “School to Prison Pipeline”
Presented to: 25th Annual NAEHCY Conference
Dream, Believe, Achieve: Turning Transition to Triumph
GEORGIA APPLESEED
CENTER FOR LAW & JUSTICE
Sharon N. Hill, Executive Director
November 4, 2013
WHY WE CARE ABOUT
STUDENT DISCIPLINE PRACTICES:
Georgia Appleseed is committed to improving the
“SCHOOL TO SUCCESS” Pipeline.
 Higher frequency of absences from school strongly correlates
with lower academic performance.
 2011 GaDOE Study: “Data indicate that missing more than
five days of school each year, regardless of the cause, begins to
impact student academic performance and starts shaping
attitudes about school.”
“The adverse individual and societal impacts associated with an
elevated high school drop out rate are enormous. The existence
of the "school to prison pipeline” is beyond reasonable debate. In
this 21st Century, a young person who does not obtain at least a
high quality high school education will have enormous difficulties
in becoming gainfully employed and potentially may be more
susceptible to engaging in unlawful behavior.” ESD Report, 2011
A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE:
A DELICATE BALANCE:
 The right of all students to
have a safe and effective
school learning environment.
 The right of each student to
have a reasonable chance to
obtain at least a quality high
school education.
FINDINGS IN OTHER STATES:
 Florida (2006)
A ”school discipline crisis?”
 Texas (2007, 2010, 2011)
60% of all students between 7th and 12th grade suspended
or expelled at least once.
 Louisiana (2010)
A “human rights crisis?”
 City of Philadelphia (2011)
High reliance on zero tolerance policies.
RECENT NATIONAL FINDINGS
 UCLA CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT [report release Sept.
2013 – based on data from 2009/10 school year
http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/schooldiscipline ; http://www.schooldisciplinedata.org/
-Nearly 1 in 3 Black Male MS Students Suspended
-Nearly 20% MS/HS SWD Suspended (3x Rate for Gen. Ed.)
-36% of Black Male SWD in MS Suspended
 NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION (April 2013)
-”Perhaps the most important barriers [to improving student
achievement] relate to out of school suspension. School disciplinary
measures should not be used to exclude students from school or
otherwise deprive them of an education, and should be used as a last
resort in schools in order to preserve the safety of students and staff.”
ESD REVIEW IN GEORGIA:
AN OVERVIEW

A detailed analysis of the student discipline data

Report on "Voices from the Field”

The key elements of an effective student
discipline system

Call for conversation on zero tolerance

Call to Action.
DISCIPLINARY ACTION DATA REVIEW
AND ANALYSIS:
The student disciplinary data under
review was collected by school
districts and compiled by GaDOE
for nine years (school years 200304 through 2011-12).
REPRESENTATIVE DATA
CAVEAT: Data are only the starting point—a basis to
initiate a conversation.
The School to Prison Pipeline:
Data can be misleading
School
Year
Students
Incidents Student
Referred
Juv/Adu
Court
Ratio
2004
1,640,215
2,265
2,100
0.1280%
2005
1,676,517
2,492
2,310
0.1378%
2006
1,698,914
2,455
2,242
0.1320%
2007
1,716,642
2,486
2,232
0.1300%
2008
1,731,102
2,218
1,964
0.1135%
2009
1,734,543
1,901
1,746
0.1007%
2010
1,744,250
1,959
1,793
0.1028%
These data suggest only 1,700 to 2,300 students are referred
to court by schools state-wide per year. This is not correct.
Actual Referrals to Juvenile Courts
Example:
DeKalb County Juvenile Court: reported receiving
4,467 to 5,898 individual students per year in the period
2004 through 2009.
DeKalb County School System: reported referring fewer
than 10 students per year to juvenile court in the same
period.
The issue is in how the data are recorded and reported in
the different “silos.”
Because of the significant uncertainty with regard to data
collection, GA Appleseed has focused on OSS data for its
more detailed analyses.
KEY FINDINGS:
 In School Year 2011-12, 7.7 percent of students in Georgia's K-12
public school system received at least one out of school suspension
("OSS”) disciplinary action.
 Use of exclusionary discipline is highly variable among
the school districts in Georgia.
KEY FINDINGS:
 OSS rates and
graduation rates are
negatively correlated.
KEY FINDINGS:
2011-12 GRADUATION RATES/CCRPI(HS)
3000+
Districts w/ Lowest OSS %
State Average
Districts with Highest OSS %
10,000+
Districts w/ Lowest OSS %
State Average
Districts with Highest OSS %
Key Districts:
APS
Bibb
Clayton
DeKalb
Dougherty
Richmond
50.9%
52.3%
53.6%
57.3%
56.7%
59.2%
80.8% / 76.8
69.7% / 72.6
68.4% / 62.8
74.8% / 78.3
69.7% / 72.6
61.6% / 65.7
KEY FINDINGS:

The vast majority of OSS
actions were taken for
nonviolent actions.
KEY FINDINGS:
 African-American
students were
consistently more than
three times as likely to
receive an OSS than
students of other
racial classifications.
Black OSS At Risk Ratio
3.3
3.2
3.3
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.0
3.0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
At Risk Ratio
SCHOOL DISTRICT DATA
OSS RATES BY COMPARABLE SIZE DISTRICTS
District
2009
2010
2011
2012
Cherokee
Chatham
Dougherty
Forsyth
Richmond
Muscogee
Paulding
Houston
Hall
Bibb
3.1
15.4
17.8
2.3
17.2
13.9
6.0
1.2
4.7
17.8
3.0
13.3
18.5
1.9
16.4
10.8
6.7
1.0
4.3
17.8
2.8
10.4
17.7
1.8
15.5
13.4
6.5
0.9
4.2
14.4
2.9
11.0
15.7
1.7
14.7
12.2
6.4
1.0
4.1
12.1
METRO ATLANTA SCHOOL DISTRICT
DATA
OSS RATES (%)
Year
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
State
9.4
9.3
9.5
9.4
9.3
8.8
8.1
7.7
7.7
APS
13.5
13.8
14.8
14.5
12.9
10.6
8.6
9.3
12.4
Fulton
6.2
6.2
7.6
8.1
9.0
9.3
8.1
6.9
7.2
.
DeKalb
13.4
12.3
12.3
11.9
11.9
11.2
10.1
10.3
10.8
Clayton
12.6
11.8
11.7
11.3
12.1
12.5
12.4
10.5
11.8
FULTON COUNTY SCHOOL
DISTRICT DATA
2012 HIGH SCHOOLS
(STATE AVG.=12.3%)
HUGHES
BANNEKER
TRI CITIES
WESTLAKE
27.3*
23.2*
19.6*
18.0*
ROSWELL
CHATTAHOOCHEE
6.2
4.1
ALPHARETTA
MILTON
2.6
1.4
JOHNS CREEK
2.8
*Reflects downward trend from historical rates.
APS SCHOOL DISTRICT DATA
2012 HIGH SCHOOL OSS RATES
(STATE AVG=12.3%)
BEST ACADEMY (Carson)
THERRELL (Eng.)
CARVER (Health)
WASHINGTON (Health)
THERRELL (Law/Govt.)
48.6
45.4
45.1
42.3
34.5
MAYS
N. ATLANTA
15.5
15.6
CARVER (Arts)
CARVER (Early College)
3.1
0.0
Most (16 of 26) APS HS had OSS rates >2x state average
APS SCHOOL DISTRICT DATA
2012 MIDDLE SCHOOL OSS RATES
(STATE AVG=11.4%)
BEST ACADEMY (Carson)
KENNEDY
PARKS
KING
LONG
HARPER-ARCHER
SUTTON
BROWN
INMAN
42.1
39.6*
36.6
36.4
34.8
30.8
6.2
5.9
5.4**
8 of 18 APS MS had OSS rates >2x state average
*Closed in 2012-13
**But consider 2012-13 experience
APS SCHOOL DISTRICT DATA
2012 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OSS RATES
(STATE AVG= 3.0%)
HERNDON
ATLANTA PREP
INTOWN CHARTER
WHITE
PERKERSON
DUNBAR
CASCADE
RIVERS
WEST MANOR
20.7
17.9
14.2
14.0
11.7
10.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
ALTERNATIVES/SUPPLEMENTS TO OSS

Beefed Up ISS

Early Identification/Intervention (RTI)

School Climate Initiatives

Restorative Justice

Alternative Education Settings

Community Resources

Review Student Code of Conduct
THANK YOU

For More Information:

www.gaappleseed.org (Including the new “Keeping Kids in
School Toolkit webpage, with OSS data for each school in
GA, to be launched in late November 2013)

For the full Effective Student Discipline (ESD) Report, go to
http://www.gaappleseed.org/keepingkidsinclass/

Like us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaAppleseed

Rob Rhodes, Dir. of Projects | rrhodes@gaappleseed.org

Sharon Hill, Exec. Dir. | shill@gaappleseed.org