Bullying and Zero-Tolerance Policies: The School to Prison Pipeline

Abstract

Abstract The centrality of zero-tolerance policies as a component of anti-bullying strategies is the focus of this paper. A review of the literature of social justice advocates, journalists, and scholars reveals that zero-tolerance policies tend to push students out of public schools into the criminal justice system in a pattern of institutional racism. This phenomenon has come to be labeled the “school to prison pipeline.” Interviews with teachers and administrators reveal that they see no alternative to their implementation of zero-tolerance policies, because they believe that violent behaviors manifested by racial minority students are grounded in cultural norms beyond the control of public educators. The authors conclude that the “school to prison pipeline” can only be ameliorated by a program of radical reform.