Can we Break the School to Prison Pipeline through Partnerships? A Quasi-experimental Evaluation of the Effects of School Justice Partnerships

Abstract

Objectives

The over usage of exclusionary discipline to address school-based behaviors remains a substantive concern given the linkage between school discipline (e.g., suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to the juvenile justice system) and adulthood involvement in the legal system. Research on strategies to reduce the usage of exclusionary discipline remains limited, warranting the quasi-experimental evaluation of School Justice Partnerships (SJPs).

Methods

A statewide evaluation of the effects of SJPs on disciplinary actions for school-based behaviors at the county-level was conducted by estimating multi-level interrupted time series analyses using publicly available data.

Results

The results of the analyses suggested that the implementation of a SJP was associated with immediate and sustained reductions in the rate of complaints to juvenile justice, but immediate reductions in long-term suspensions that rebounded over time.

Conclusions

Improvements to the SJPs model should be implemented to ensure that the partnership is effective at reducing both referrals to juvenile justice and school disciplinary actions.