Zero-tolerance policy creates a school-to-prison pipeline
Interview by Jacob Simas/New America Media
Schools across the nation are increasingly adopting punitive measures as a way to control and deter violence and other disruptive behaviors. These “zero-tolerance” policies can encompass anything from metal detectors to increased police presence on school campuses to the handing out of expulsions and suspensions. But a rising tide of voices say that zero-tolerance policies are ineffective, and in fact only succeed in making matters worse by creating a “school and prison pipeline.” Former NAM managing editor Annette Fuentes is the author of a new book, Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes the Jail House, published by Verso. The book explores the reasons zero-tolerance policies have grown and investigates the impact those policies are having on students. She was interviewed by NAM associate editor Jacob Simas. (more...)