Could Federal COVID Funding Close School-to-Prison Pipeline?
Billions in federal school funding could help launch restorative justice practices in schools.
Landwebs
A new report from the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit promoting effective and humane responses to crime and imprisonment, reveals that $190 billion in federal school funding connected to the COVID-19 pandemic could help districts in Wyoming and across the nation close the so-called school-to-prison pipeline, reports the Public News Service. Federal stimulus funding offers an unprecedented chance to launch services outside of law enforcement to help vulnerable children.
The report’s recommendations include reducing arrests at school by removing school resource officers. Restorative justice, where kids make amends with victims after hearing firsthand about the harm they caused, can also put kids on a path to be contributing community members. Donna Sheen, director of the Wyoming Children’s Law Center, believes teens should not be pushed into the criminal justice system for acting out or other normal adolescent behaviors. She contended it is on entire communities to identify students at risk and give them opportunities to develop and contribute in positive ways.
