Learning Disablilites and Delinquency from our Juveniles

The aim of this essay is primarily to identify and discuss the reasons for and factors contributing to the vulnerability of adults with learning disabilities who come in contact with the criminal justice system.

There are many theories that contribute to what may cause Juvenile Delinquency, one of which is called Social Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory states that behavior is modeled through observation, either directly through intimate contact with others or indirectly through media. Social learning theorist Albert Bandura, Walter Mischel, and Richard Walters indicate that children model their behavior according to the reactions they receive from others, the behavior of their parents, and the behavior they view through media.

This week’s readings discussed consequences for special education students. It was very interesting to see the different court case rulings for each case. Teachers, administrators and parents need to make sure they have everything accurate when taking a case like many of these to court. In this paper I will discuss the five key points in the articles and readings stood out to me the most, how and if my beliefs changed or were altered, and how I might apply the content to the classroom and instruction.

The School-to-Prison Pipeline presents the intersection of a K-12 educational system and a juvenile system, which too often fails to serve our nations at risk youth. For most students, the pipeline begins with inadequate resources in public schools. Overcrowded classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and insufficient funding for "extras" such as counselors, special education services, even textbooks, lock students into second-rate educational environments. This failure to meet educational needs increases disengagement and dropouts, increasing the risk of later court involvement (Bennett-Haron, Fasching-Varner, Martin, & Mitchell 2014). Even worse, schools may actually encourage dropouts in response to pressures from test-based accountability regimes such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which create incentives to push out low-performing students to boost overall test scores (Cramer, Gonzales, & Lafont-Pellegrini 2014). Lacking resources, facing incentives to push out low-performing students, and responding to a handful of highly-publicized school shootings, schools have embraced zero-tolerance policies that automatically impose severe punishment regardless of circumstances. Under these policies, students have been expelled for bringing nail clippers or scissors to school (Christle, Jolivette, & Nelson 2005). Rates of suspension have increased dramatically in recent years from 1.7 million in 1998 to 3.1 million in 2010

Addressing the school-to-prison pipeline requires focusing on where it begins: a neglected and under-resourced public education system (NAACP, 2005). Research has confirmed that fewer attention and resources to students yield poor

Whether equality in the nation’s educational system has ever been achieved is greatly debated. For many students inequality persists, particularly for those viewed as a minority, low-income or disabled, as avenues to a worthwhile education remain limited or in severe cases closed all together. To compound the issue many of these students either drop out of school or are pushed out because of delinquency matters. As a result, many end up becoming involved with the juvenile justice system, often faced with labels and stigmas that will follow them well into adulthood. However, how did this new face of inequality come into existence? To answer this we must look at the nations “tough on crime” approach, school disciplinary systems, and the

While in school, children are taught to read, write, and communicate with others. However, some students find themselves disengaged with their education and dropout. “According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice, 56 percent of federal inmates, 67 percent of inmates in state prisons, and 69 percent of inmates in local jails did not complete high school”(“Crime Rates Linked”) Not everyone who drops out of school will automatically become a criminal, but those who do drop out will have a higher chance of incarceration than those who don’t (“Crime

The school-to-prison pipeline is a devastating part of reality for all too many students. The pipeline in definition is simply a term representing the tendency for certain students to easily end up in prison during or shortly after schooling. To decrease this tendency, it is important that teachers are aware of the issue and that the community as a whole works to implement policies that actually work, and eliminate the ones that strengthen the pipeline. Looking specifically at the pipeline amongst individuals with disabilities, it is evident that the population of

The school-to-prison pipeline is a growing epidemic in the U.S school system. The school-to-prison pipeline represents the policies and practices that push minority school children out of the classrooms and into the juvenile justice system. According to Best, “social problems are products of what people do” (Best p.14). When children are rejected from schools disciplinary actions and are now handled by the court system, most of these children will become criminals later in life. The school-to-prison pipeline is a growing social problem because the school system is creating more criminal behavior within children, since they refuse to deal with the situation themselves. These children are now the products of a failing system.

In the last decade, the punitive and overzealous tools and approaches of the modern criminal justice system have seeped into our schools, serving to remove children from mainstream educational environments and funnel them onto a one-way path toward prison. These various policies, collectively referred to as the School-to-Prison Pipeline, push children out of school and hasten their entry into the juvenile, and eventually the criminal, justice system, where prison is the end of the road. Historical inequities, such as segregated education, concentrated poverty, and racial disparities in law enforcement, all feed the pipeline. The School-to-Prison Pipeline is one of the most urgent challenges in education today. (NAACP 2005)

Juvenile centers generally provide the same education to all students, which is a huge problem. If juvenile centers provide the same education to everyone, some students who are smarter than others will be learning at a slower pace than they would have normally. “In 2011, 5 percent of California students were able to earn a high school diploma while locked up, compared with 8 percent nationally” (Juvenile Justice System, 1). If each student’s education was tracked, that number would skyrocket. Using the new data from tracking the student’s education, juvenile centers could better create individualized education plans to provide for the varieties of intelligence of the incarcerated

Juvenile delinquents are minors, usually defined as being between the ages of 10 and 18, who have committed some act that violates the law. These acts aren’t called “crimes” as they would be for adults. Rather, crimes committed by minors are called “delinquent acts.” Instead of a trial, the juvenile has an “adjudication,” after which he/she receives a “disposition” and a sentence. However, juvenile proceedings differ from adult proceedings in a number of ways (Reuters, 2017). Delinquent acts are put into two categories. The first category of a delinquent act is one that would be considered a crime had an adult committed it. Given the serious nature of the crime(s), some jurisdictions will try young offenders as adults. The second type of delinquent act is age related or “status crimes” meaning that the crime(s) wouldn’t normally be performed or committed by an adult. For example, staying out past curfew or skipping school known as truancy is an act of a status crime or age related crime.

For a portion of their lives, the average person most likely believes that the criminal justice system executes justice and disciplines offenders accordingly. Reflecting upon the United States’ history, it is proven that this is not always the case. When the phrases “school” and “prison” come to mind, they typically have no correlation to each other⎼until the topic of the "school-to-prison pipeline" is introduced. The school-to-prison pipeline refers to policies and procedures within the classroom that push our nation's schoolchildren, especially those most at-risk, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This pipeline reflects the prioritization of incarceration over education. Reform within schools is crucial

Children delinquency prevention and reduction shouldn’t be as complicated as it is today. It is said that many juveniles are becoming formally involved in the juvenile justice system due to having some sort of learning disability and/or because of behavior and discipline problems with his/her school also known as the school to prison pipeline. Kids with learning disabilities were detained more frequently and frequently came across detention centers compared to kids that don’t have disabilities. When an educator gives up on a child, the child will tend to have a negative self-perception and have a low frustration tolerance that’ll unfortunately be a factor to his/her future delinquent actions. Rejection of peers, low self-worth, dropping out

Juvenile offending is a concern in society today. Juveniles account for approximately 19% of the population but are responsible for 29% of criminal arrests (Cottle, Lee, & Heilbrun, 2001). Crime overall has been found to be decreasing throughout the last two decades. The issue is that the rate in which adult crime is decreasing is significantly greater than the rate in which juvenile crime is decreasing. Since the rate of juvenile crime is so high, juvenile delinquents are seen as predators and many believe they lack morals. The way in which media of today’s society constructs juvenile delinquency impacts the views of a community towards their youth and youth offenders. Media presents an inaccurate image of youth offenders as violent predators (Rhineberger-Dunn, 2013). This inaccurate image significantly promotes the myths that juvenile crime is rising, juveniles commit crimes that are primarily violent, and that juveniles are highly effected by recidivism and continue committing crimes into adulthood (Bohm, & Walker, 2013). It has already been stated though that crime rates have been decreasing over the last two decades so the first myth is refuted. The myth that juveniles primarily commit violent crimes is also very off. In most cases, juveniles are involved in property crimes and although there are some violent crime cases, they are very rare. When these rare violent crimes do occur, youth can be tried in adult court. The