U.S. Sens. Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced the Supportive School Climate Act of 2015, legislation that would address the so-called school-to-prison pipeline by reducing suspensions, expulsions, and other overly harsh school disciplinary actions to improve youth outcomes. The bill addresses zero-tolerance policies that have disproportionately targeted poor and minority students, particularly those with a history of abuse and neglect, or students with disabilities, as these are practices that have been proven to further stigmatize children, enlarge achievement gaps, and increase rates of school drop-outs and recidivism.
The Supportive School Climate Act would allow states to use federal education funds for positive behavioral interventions and support, as long as interested states also work to address the following:
- Ensure that school discipline policies align with civil rights laws and are applied equally to all students;
- Provide technical assistance to state and local education professionals, including training on trauma-informed approaches;
- Coordinate efforts with local education agencies to maximize the reintegration of students involved with the criminal and juvenile justice systems;
- Strengthen current law that governs coordination between school systems and correctional facilities, ensuring that once kids are incarcerated, they have a meaningful opportunity to turn their lives around when released;
- Establish systems for sustained family and community engagement; and
- Provide transparent reporting on aggregated and disaggregated data of incidences of suspensions, expulsions, disciplinary transfers and referrals, seclusion, restraint, and school-based arrests at the state and local level.
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