skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Fighting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

play audio
Play

Tuesday, September 23, 2014   

YPSILANTI, Mich. - It's supposed to be a safe place to learn and grow, but some youth advocates say in Michigan there is a growing tendency to criminalize rather than educate children, which is why they are working to fight what's been dubbed the "school-to-prison pipeline."

Peri Stone-Palmquist, executive director of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan and a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Michigan, says policies such as zero tolerance discipline and mandatory expulsions and suspensions often push the most at-risk kids right out of school and into the criminal-justice system.

"Michigan, in particular, has sort of gone beyond what the federal intent certainly was, which was not to allow kids to have guns in schools," she says. "We have actually one of the harshest and overly broad discipline codes in the country."

The Gun Free Schools Act of 1990 mandated zero tolerance for firearms and referrals to law enforcement for violators, but Michigan has since adopted legislation requiring suspension for many other offenses.

Stone-Palmquist acknowledges school discipline is difficult, and often requires split-second decisions on the part of teachers and administrators, but she feels it's important to move toward a more nuanced approach.

"What is the student trying to tell us?" she asks. "Really understand the family situation - was there a crisis in the family? Almost always, the students I see, there's been something going on either in school, with their peers, or something going on at home. So how can we provide support?"

She adds that the job of adults is to give kids the space to make mistakes and help them learn from those choices.

"I have kids in school, I want them to be safe, but I don't actually think we're creating a climate of safety when all we're doing is pushing kids out and not inviting them back in," she says. "That's not teaching them how to make better choices. "

Stone-Palmquist praises discipline techniques such as the "Restorative Approach," which brings together all those affected to work to repair relationships. Several Michigan schools have taken a pledge called "Solutions Not Suspensions," affirming a willingness to re-evaluate discipline policies.

NASW Michigan is actively working toward closing the school-to-prison pipeline, and putting an end to zero tolerance.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021