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Texas spends more than double the amount on inmates ($22,751, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition) than on students ($10,342, Annual Survey of School System Finances).
Texas spends more than double the amount on inmates ($22,751, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition) than on students ($10,342, Annual Survey of School System Finances).
K-12 Education in Texas:
K-12 Education in Texas:
In an age where public education is under attack, and young members of marginalized communities are increasingly criminalized, it’s imperative to shed light on educational disparities, troubled youth, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline. The Texas Juvenile Detention Department (TJDD), the institution meant to provide these children with the support and rehabilitation they need, has been plagued by abuse and self-harm scandals. To make matters worse, lawmakers passed budgets to lock in more than 200 youth in these facilities and provisions to transfer some of the teens into adult prisons despite the protests of many prison advocacy groups.
In an age where public education is under attack, and young members of marginalized communities are increasingly criminalized, it’s imperative to shed light on educational disparities, troubled youth, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline. The Texas Juvenile Detention Department (TJDD), the institution meant to provide these children with the support and rehabilitation they need, has been plagued by abuse and self-harm scandals. To make matters worse, lawmakers passed budgets to lock in more than 200 youth in these facilities and provisions to transfer some of the teens into adult prisons despite the protests of many prison advocacy groups.
Racial Achievement gap: In Texas, about 60% of White students on these campuses meet grade-level standards, compared to about 40% of Black students, 45% of Hispanic students, and 42% of low-income students.
State Takeover: in March 2023, the state of Texas took over the Houston Independent School District (HISD), one of the biggest districts of the country. Research suggest that this leads to no academic improvements, in fact, lower test scores come immediately after the takeover, followed by a period of about five years before returning to pre-takeover levels.
Low per-pupil spending: Texas spent $10,342 per student in the 2020 fiscal year, more than $3,000 less than the national average. The spending is even lower in HISD, of only $9,380 per pupil. Research proves that the higher the per-pupil spending, the better the average academic performance.
To bring Texas’ poorest students’ performance up to the national average, we’d need to spend $12,682 more each year on every Texas student.
To bring Texas’ poorest students’ performance up to the national average, we’d need to spend $12,682 more each year on every Texas student.
Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code outlines policies for school “discipline, law and order,” and is largely based on the Texas Penal Code: should we treat our children like criminals?
There is no evidence to support the efficacy of harsh disciplinary orders. In the contrary: out-of-school suspensions are the number one predictor of dropout
These students being punished for misbehavior need support and assistance, not punishment - let alone be sent to juvenile detention over minor misbehaviors. According to The Texas Observer (2022), 90% of suspension and expulsion actions were for violations of a school code of conduct, while only 5% were due to fighting and 2.84% for possession of controlled substances.
According to the School-to-Prison Pipeline Report of Texas Appleseed (2007):
More than a third of Texas public school students dropped out in 2005-06.
• Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs have fi ve times the dropout rate of mainstream schools.
• One in three juveniles sent to the Texas Youth Commission are school dropouts.
• More than 80 percent of Texas prison inmates are dropouts.
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