Schools are meant to be a place of opportunity, a place where children get their first taste of the real world. A place where we shape them into the productive and successful human beings we hope they become. Schools are the place where young people gain knowledge, develop essential skills, and prepare for their future. But this is not the reality for many students, particularly students of color from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, students with disabilities, and other students impacted by systemic inequality. For these children, schools can become a direct pipeline to incarceration. This pattern is known as the school-to-prison pipeline, and it is a clear reflection of a disturbing truth: our education system criminalizes students instead of supporting them.
By applying sociological and criminological theories such as conflict and critical race theory, we can better understand what is behind how school environments contribute to students’ long-term harm. The ACLU defines the school-to-prison pipeline as a set of policies and practices that funnel students out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This is often done through harsh disciplinary policies such as zero-tolerance rules that apply police-level consequences (e.g., arrests, citations, or police involvement) to everyday juvenile behavior.
The Federal Policy joint report reveals that even minor infractions, like being late to class, are being handled with more aggressive repercussions, such as suspension, expulsion, or even arrest. These harsh consequences disproportionately affect Black, Latino, and other marginalized groups of students. All of which eventually leads to the reinforcement of systems that enable social stratification — a system in which categories of people are ranked in a hierarchy.
Rather than trying to understand the reasons behind the students’ behavior through the lens of socialization — the process by which one learns the appropriate attitudes and behaviors within a culture — and support for the student, the school treats students as threats, reinforcing deviant labels that stick with the student and have a great effect on their view of themselves.
Critical race theory (CRT) teaches us that racism goes far beyond personal bias; it is embedded in the systems, policies, and institutions that surround us. This is why black students are more likely to be suspended in comparison to their white peers for the same behavior. These racial disparities are not accidents; in fact, they are a product of a system that assumes some students to be more “dangerous” than others. This directly plays into labeling theory — individuals are labeled as deviant and are more likely to act upon the label — which explains why students who are labeled as “troublemakers” or just plain “difficult” are treated accordingly by teachers, law enforcement, and school administrators. According to labeling theory, these labels become internalized and take a big toll on how the students perceive themselves, eventually becoming what they are labeled as, almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Context is extremely important when looking at this. The school experience of a Black student in a well-resourced, predominantly Black school district may differ greatly from that of a Black student attending a predominantly white school. These variations are shaped by differences in school environment, community support, racial representation in staff, and cultural expectations. Understanding the school-to-prison pipeline requires acknowledging how race, class, geography, and institutional context all connect and have an influence on student outcomes. Failing to consider these factors can lead to overgeneralization and overlook the role that environment and institutional culture play in perpetuating or mitigating injustice.
Federal education policy actively contributes to this crisis. The No Child Left Behind Act placed intense pressure on schools to enhance their standardized test performance, making it so that schools hyperfocus on test scores rather than broader education goals. While this pressure is applied to all schools, it disproportionately impacts economically disadvantaged communities, which often necessary resources — such as funding and staff — to meet performance expectations. Low performance affects students across all racial, socioeconomic, and ability groups, especially in public schools where academic disengagement, behavioral issues, and limited resources were already present. However, students of color, students with disabilities, and those who come from low-income backgrounds face harsher consequences when labeled as “underperforming.”
In these contexts, Black and Latino students are more likely to be suspended, expelled, or tracked into disciplinary alternative ways of education. Even when white students struggle with academics or behavior, the systemic response differs, as less punitive approaches are more likely to be available in wealthier school districts. This reflects patterns of educational neglect and institutional bias.
As a result, students who are repeatedly suspended, labeled “troublemakers,” or pushed into alternative education programs are more likely to drop out, which is a strong predictor of future incarceration. This is a great example of social reproduction — the process of children remaining in the same social class through intergenerational transmission of various types of capital — where inequality is passed down through institutions like education. Rather than serving as equalizers, schools often function as tools for further stratification.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, students of color — particularly Black students — are arrested and referred to law enforcement 2–3 times the rate of their white peers, even when commuting comparable offenses like dress code violations, tardiness, or classroom disruption, behaviors that are common across all student populations. This data becomes even more concerning as it is revealed that Black boys with disabilities were arrested at rates 3-4 times more than the national average. These findings show that punitive school responses are driven by systemic bias, reflecting the institutionalized criminalization of historically marginalized students. Schools, which should function as sites of growth, are often structured in ways that mirror the logic and outcomes of the criminal justice system, especially for the most vulnerable students.
The school-to-prison pipeline isn’t just about harsh discipline — it’s a reflection of the deeper injustices woven into our education system. Conflict Theory, a macro theory based on class struggles and exploitation, reminds us that schools often protect the interests of those in power, while Critical Race Theory exposes how racial bias shapes policies and outcomes. When we consider sociological and criminological concepts like labeling, social reproduction, and agents of socialization, it’s clear how harmful it is to treat students like criminals instead of kids.
As agents of socialization — the influencers of social development and behaviors, which include individuals, groups, institutions, and social context — schools are not just a place of learning, but institutions that shape how students understand concepts such as power, identity, belonging, and behavior. But when this socialization is built around negative concepts such as punishment and exclusion rather than positives like mentorship and support, it contributes not only to academic disengagement and dropout rates but to the normalization of systemic inequality.
If we want real change, we have to rethink what discipline looks like in schools. It’s about promoting equity, dismantling harmful systems, and making schools places where every student can grow, thrive, and feel supported regardless of race, ability, or socioeconomic background. Students should not be punished for who they are or where they come from; they should be supported to become the best version of themselves possible.
Pineda-Horta is a guest blogger at UITAC Publishing. UITAC’s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable, and socially responsible online course materials.
Images Used in this Blog:
- “Brown concrete pavement” by Ryan Stefan is licensed by Unsplash. This image has not been altered.
- “Boy in Green Sweater Writing on White Paper” by CDC is licensed by Unsplash. This image has not been altered.
- “Three boys wearing white dress shirt” by Marjan Blan is licensed by Unsplash. This image has not been altered.
