COMBATING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE
Early Childhood & Discipline
School-to-prison pipeline issues impacting students from pre-k to elementary school and efforts to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline on these students
On this page:
Related Resources:
In the News
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Half of the 250 Kids Expelled from Preschool Each Day Are Black Boys, Scientific American, Jan 2023
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Handcuffs in Hallways: Hundreds of Elementary Students Arrested at U.S. Schools, CBS News, 2022
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Ending Corporal Punishment of Preschool-Age Children, The Brookings Institution, 2020
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​Kicking Kids out of Preschool is Damaging Experts Say. So Why is it Still Happening? NBC News, 2019
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School Discipline in Preschool Through Grade 3, National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019
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Texas Banned Out of School Suspension. 4,500 Kids Were Suspended Anyway, Houston Chronicle, 2019
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The Single Biggest Risk Factor in Getting Expelled Is Being a Preschooler, Governing, 2018
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Substantial Racial Stereotyping toward Young Children of Color Found among White Adults Who Work with Them, Harvard School of Public Health, 2018
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Corporal Punishment and Preschoolers: What New Federal Data Show, Education Week, 2018
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A Breakthrough in Discipline Reform for Early Learners, American Civil Liberties Union, 2017
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Why Is It So Hard to Stop Suspending Kindergartners?, The Hechinger Report, 2017
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Even Preschool Teachers Can Be Guilty of Racially Stereotyping Black Babies, The Hechinger Report, 2016
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Reports
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Maryland Law Offers Lessons on Restricting Early Childhood Suspension and Expulsion, ChildTrends, 2023
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Stereotyping Across Intersections of Race And Age: Racial Stereotyping among White Adults Working with Children, PLOS One, 2018
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Suspensions Are Not Support: The Disciplining of Preschoolers with Disabilities, Center for American Progress, 2018
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Do Early Educators’ Implicit Biases Regarding Sex and Race Relate to Behavior Expectations and Recommendations of Preschool Expulsions and Suspensions?, A Research Study Brief, Yale Child Study Center, 2016
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Preschool Suspension and Expulsion: Defining the Issues, Institute for Child Success, 2018
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Delivering on the Promise of Effective Early Childhood Education, National Black Child Development Institute, 2018
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Keeping Kids in Class: Pre-K Through 2nd Grade Suspensions in Texas and a Better Way Forward, Texas Care for Children, March 2018
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New Data Reveal 250 Preschoolers Are Suspended or Expelled Every Day, Center for American Progress, 2017
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Suspended Childhood: An Analysis of Exclusionary Discipline of Texas’ Pre-K and Elementary School Students, Texas Appleseed, 2017
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Preventing Suspensions and Expulsions in Early Childhood Settings: An Administrator’s Guide to Supporting All Children’s Success, SRI International, 2016
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Early Childhood Expulsions and Suspensions Undermine Our Nation’s Most Promising Agent of Opportunity and Social Justice (article and issue brief), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2016
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Point of Entry: The Preschool-to-Prison Pipeline, Center for American Progress, 2015
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Pre-Kindergartners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Pre-Kindergarten Programs, Foundation for Child Development, 2010 (Report)
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Key Facts and Data Trends
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Discipline Practices in Preschool, US Education Department, July 2021
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Discipline of Early Learners – Summary of Laws, District Policies and Federal Resources, ACLU of Pennsylvania, updated August 2019
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Ending Corporal Punishment of Preschool-Age Children, The Brookings Institution, October 13, 2020
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​Kicking Kids out of Preschool is Damaging Experts Say. So Why is it Still Happening? NBC News, August 2019
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School Discipline in Preschool Through Grade 3, National Conference of State Legislatures, April 2019
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Texas Banned Out of School Suspension. 4,500 Kids Were Suspended Anyway, Houston Chronicle, April 29, 2019
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The Single Biggest Risk Factor in Getting Expelled Is Being a Preschooler, Governing, November 13, 2018
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Corporal Punishment and Preschoolers: What New Federal Data Show, Education Week, May 11, 2018
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Why Is It So Hard to Stop Suspending Kindergartners?, The Hechinger Report, May 31, 2017
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4 Disturbing Facts About Preschool Suspension, Center for American Progress, March 30, 2017
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Even Preschool Teachers Can Be Guilty of Racially Stereotyping Black Babies, The Hechinger Report, September 28, 2016
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Factsheets and Multimedia
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Banning Our Babies: Addressing the Suspensions of Black Children throughout Early Childhood Education, webinar, 2022
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Discipline of Early Learners – Summary of Laws, District Policies and Federal Resources, ACLU of Pennsylvania, 2019
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4 Disturbing Facts About Preschool Suspension, Center for American Progress, 2017
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Preschool to Prison Pipeline: Exclusionary Discipline in Preschool Programs, presentation to Pennsylvania's Office of Child Development and Early Learning leadership retreat by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Education Law Center of PA, 2016
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Action Resources
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Stop the Madness: Purging the Preschool to Prison Pipeline, National Black Child Development Institute, collection of articles, including What's Wrong With Criminalizing Our Early Learners?
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Parent Power Bootcamp: Call to Action Toolkit, National Black Child Development Institute, 2017
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Keep Young Students in Class, Texas Appleseed, 2017, one page handouts used in successful campaigns in Dallas and Austin, Texas
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Banning Classroom Removals for Young Children Policy Guide, Texas Appleseed, 2016​
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Implementing Policies to Reduce the Likelihood of Preschool Expulsion, Foundation for Child Development, 2010
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