The school to prison pipeline is defined by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as “the policies and practices that push our nation’s school children, especially our most at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This pipeline reflects the prioritization of incarceration over education.”

• Our goal is to get Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, KY to approve Professional Development Training on the School to Prison Pipeline for educators and staff.

According to a report on School Discipline in Kentucky: An examination of school discipline in the Jefferson County School District. Kentucky Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. (June 2011).

1. JCPS discipline policies employ a "Zero Tolerance" standard (which work to "automatically impose severe punishment regardless of the circumstances" ACLU, 2016).

2. African-American students in JCPS are disciplined and placed into alternative education setting as a significantly higher rate than white students.

3. African-American students receive a significantly disproportionate number of disciplinary referrals. "Suspended and expelled children are often left unsupervised and without constructive activities; they also can easily fall behind in their coursework, leading to a greater likelihood of disengagement and drop-outs. All of these factors increase the likelihood of court involvement" ACLU, 2016).

https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/what-school-prison-pipeline