To what extent has Structural Violence influenced the School-to-Prison Pipeline and how is Restorative Justice effective for combating the system?

Abstract

The significance of the research is to demonstrate how Restorative Justice is an efficacious method for combatting the School-to-Prison Pipeline. To examine the Restorative Justice strategy, a series of engagements were conducted in a local high school to examine how Structural Violence is prominent in a school setting with the staff. In 2013 and 2014, Black students were 39.9% at higher risk for out-of-school suspensions, despite making up 15% of the school population The contributor to this is the School-to-Prison Pipeline; the system displaces students of color with disproportionate distributions of disciplinary actions through Structural Violence. The disciplinary measures escalate to the point of students being involved with the criminal justice system. Zero-tolerance policies are prominent measures that schools use to determine the punishments a student receives. Since the United States’ campaign on combating the War on Drugs during the 1970s and 80s, people of color contributed to a majority of the arrests as a result of zero-tolerance tactics. Despite the prominence of zero-tolerance policies in schools, Restorative Justice is an effective tactic for managing disciplinary measures and combating the School-to-Prison Pipeline.