Juvenile Justice System: Zero Tolerance Policies

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Mechanisms that keep this Institutional Injustice in Place and Who Benefits Policies and acts such as Zero Tolerance Policy, Drug-Free Schools Act and Safe and Gun-Free Schools Act, as discussed above, has contributed to the institutional injustices that lead minority youth on a path from school to prison (Raible, & Irizarry, 2010). Policies such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top contributed to minority youth funneled through the juvenile justice system. These policies were put in place to hold public schools accountable for academic progress for youth. NCLB is supposed to encourage and promote learning through standardized testing, by rewarding schools with much needed funding. American Institute for Research has revealed…show more content…
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is dedicated to ending zero tolerance policies to eliminate the institutional injustice created by the school to prison pipeline. The ACLU, along with The National Bar Association is working with law makers for due process for all youth, because they are entitled to an education as a civil right. ACLU members ally themselves with the community, schools and lawmakers to litigate policy change to end the criminalization of minority youth. They also organize strategies and find resources to help combat this rising epidemic (American Civil Liberties Union, 2015). The Dignity in School Campaign (DSC) works to fight injustices perpetuated against youth, which result in violations against human rights of every child (Dignity in Schools, 2011) The DSC rejects the notion of out of school suspension, but instead works with the school system to help teachers, school administrators and students create a secure environment and learn how to redirect bad behavior, while safeguarding human and civil rights to…show more content…
School faculty should attend workshops and seminars, taught by a social worker, geared towards knowing how to recognize disruptive behavior and how to properly handle the behavior. Workshops and seminars can show the differences between a violent threat and non-violent threats and how to get control of the situation, before it gets out of hand. Teaching school personnel effective grounding techniques to use with students to deescalate a situation will result in fewer out school suspension and arrest. Also getting parents involved will help change the ideology of school officials and teachers to create policies that advocated education and social growth among

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