Dismantling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline: Analyzing Zero Tolerance School Discipline Policies and Identifying Strategic Opportunities for Intervention

The Cradle to Prison Pipeline is a national crisis that leaves a Black boy born in 2001 with a one in three chance of going to prison in his lifetime and a Latino boy a one in six risk of the same fate.  While the Pipeline is fueled by root causes that begin early in a child’s life, a critical part of the Pipeline is flowing through Massachusetts schools: a zero tolerance approach to school discipline.   “Zero Tolerance,” as it relates to school discipline policies, is a philosophy based on risk aversion.  Legally, school discipline policies afford principals and teachers discretion in how they apply school discipline policies.  However, a zero tolerance approach adopts mandatory or predetermined punishments for certain behaviors without considering the specific context and circumstances.  

This one-size-fits-all approach too often dolls out a hundred dollar penalty for a ten-cent crime.  While educators, administrators, parents, policymakers, and advocates alike recognize that school discipline policies are a necessary part of ensuring safe schools and positive learning environments, zero tolerance approaches to school discipline are having serious unintended consequences.  Zero tolerance increases the use of suspension and expulsion for students who do not pose a threat to school safety, disconnects students from school, and ultimately contributes to the Cradle to Prison Pipeline.