NCJ Number
246129
Date Published
February 2014
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This report examines how hostile school climates can perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth.
Abstract
Recent research has found that rigid school discipline policies perpetuate a school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately affects students from racial and ethnic minorities and students with disabilities. This report examines how one subgroup of these students, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth are adversely affected by these policies. A review of recent studies found that LGBT youth, in particular gender-nonconforming girls, are three times more likely to experience harsh disciplinary treatment by school administrators compared to their non-LGBT counterparts, and that LGBT youth report significant distrust of school administrators and do not believe that school officials do enough to foster a safe and welcoming school environment. This report examines the concept of school-to-prison pipeline and discusses the negative consequences resulting from rigid school discipline polices that often push students out of school into the juvenile justice and criminal justice systems. The report also examines factors in school policies that contribute to hostile school climates. These factors include peer-on-peer bullying, dress codes and monitoring of student behavior, unenumerated policies, and lack of access to LGBT resources for LGBT youth. Additional sections of the report examine 1) how harsh school discipline policies, such as zero-tolerance policies and the increased use of suspensions and expulsions, criminalize youth and push them into the criminal justice system; and 2) alternatives to harsh discipline policies. The final section of the report includes a set of recommendations for improving the school climate for not only minority students and LGBT youth, but for all students. 120 endnotes