Research: Education
Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems, May 2010
This Center for Juvenile Justice Reform report discusses the importance of education for children and adolescents who are exposed to either the foster care or delinquency system. It highlights that youth in foster care and those involved with the juvenile delinquency system do not receive the education services to which they are entitled to and, as a result, are less likely to achieve education milestones, earn diplomas, and experience the health and well-being associated with higher income and stable employment as adults. The paper offers suggestions for dealing with this issue like early intervention and literacy programs. PDF, 836 KB
CT Voices Report: Teaching Discipline - A Toolkit for Educators on Positive Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspensions, June 2010
This Connecticut Voices for Children report highlights the disciplinary alternatives to out-of-school suspensions that schools in Connecticut are implementing with tangible results. This report provides a “menu” or “toolkit” of potential options that educators can consider, adopt, or modify based on unique culture, resources, and needs of their school communities. PDF, 519 KB
CT Voices: Connecticut Takes Promising Steps Towards Enhancing Teacher Training in Classroom Management, April 2010
This Connecticut Voices for Children paper discusses the importance of classroom management training for teachers and what types of trainings are being done it Connecticut. PDF, 238 KB
School Wide Positive Behavior Supports
Presentation by George Sugai. PDF, 22.4 MB
The Right to Education in the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems in the United States
Prepared by the Dignity in Schools campaign, this report examines to connection between education and the juvenile and adult justice system. As a result of their findings, they urge the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education to call on the United States government to live up to its commitment under human rights law to provide adequate access to and funding for quality educational programs in juvenile and adult correctional facilities. PDF, 118 KB
ACLU Report: Hard Lessons – SRO Programs and School-Based Arrests in 3 CT Towns, November 2008
Police arrests of students at Hartford-area schools are on the rise, according to a new American Civil Liberties Union report released, a trend that disproportionately impacts children of color. An ACLU report shows how the use by school districts of school resource officers who are not adequately trained and whose objectives are not clearly defined leads to the criminalization of students rather than their being educated. PDF, 673.21 KB
CDF Report: America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline
A report from the Children’s Defense Fund. PDF, 2.12 MB
Child Trends Brief: A Guide to Assessing
and Increasing School Engagement, October 2008
Students who are disengaged from school are at risk for many poor outcomes beyond poor academic achievement. They are at risk of skipping classes, sexual activity, substance use, and ultimately dropping out of school. A new Child Trends brief provides information on why school engagement matters, how out-of-school time programs can affect school engagement, and how to measure engagement. The brief includes specific measures of school engagement from three surveys and a list of additional resources. PDF, 98.5 KB
CT Legal Services: Juvenile Justice and Special Education
This Powerpoint presentation from October 2006 discusses the connections among Special Education, Family with Service Needs cases, and Juvenile Justice. PowerPoint, 153 KB
CT Voices Report: Suspending Students
from CT School, August 2008
This study of the use of out-of-school suspensions to discipline K-12 students suggests that out-of-school suspensions may be overused and counterproductive. Suspensions are common, and suspension rates vary widely among school districts. Students who are suspended are disproportionately those who need educational opportunities the most. The report points to research on school discipline practices which indicates that overreliance on suspensions is not only ineffective, but can be counterproductive in terms of student behavior and educational outcomes. PDF, 383.28 KB
Jefferson Parish Case Study
From the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Southern Disability Law Center. PDF, 61.98 KB
JPI Education and Public Safety
A policy brief from the Justice Policy Institute.PDF, 137 KB
SDE Suspension Guidelines, October 2008
The State Department of Eduation (SDE) released this guidance document to assist school districts in implementing the suspension law. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2009, however it requires that SDE issues guidelines by October 1, 2008, to aid districts in making the determination about whether suspensions should be in-school or out-of-school. PDF, 368.49 KB
Texas and the School to Prison Pipeline
A new report by the Texas Appleseed on School-to-Prison Pipeline. PDF, 16.61 KB
Truancy: A Closer Look
The Center for Children’s Advocacy published this report in December 2006. PDF, 331 KB