Ǥǡ‹•–”‹…–––‘”‡› ’ƒ”–‡”•Š‹’™‹–Š Š‡‹–›‹˜‡”•‹–›‘ˆ‡™‘” ǤǤǡ”‡•‹†‡– ƒ…‡ǡƒ™ǡƒ†—•–‹…‡ǣ–”ƒ–‡‰‹‡•ˆ‘”
Ž‘•‹‰–Š‡…Š‘‘Ž-­‐–‘-­‐”‹•‘‹’‡Ž‹‡ •‡”‹‡•‘ˆƒ”–‹…Ž‡•ƒ•ƒˆ‘ŽŽ‘™-­‐—’–‘–Š‡›’‘•‹—Š‡Ž†‘
‡„”—ƒ”›ͳͶ–ŠƬͳͷ–ŠʹͲͳ͵Ǥ Symposium Presented By
Office of the District Attorney Kings County, Brooklyn, NY
Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney
In partnership with
Medgar Evers College, The City University of New York
Dr. William L. Pollard, President
Program Committee
Joan Gabbidon
Jonathan Bissell
Senior Deputy District Attorney
Director of Adult & Continuing Education
Medgar Evers College
Deborah Lashley
Dr. Moses Newsome, Jr.
Executive Assistant District Attorney
Interim Associate Dean of the School of
Liberal Arts & Education,
Medgar Evers College
O ur Special T hanks to
Natalie Leary, former Community Liaison, Juvenile Crimes Bureau, Office of the Kings County District Attorney
Jennifer Betancourt, Community Liaison, Juvenile Crimes Bureau, Office of the Kings County District Attorney
The Symposium and follow-up journal were made possible by the generous support and funding
of The Kellogg F oundation
Disclaimer Statement
Each article included in this journal is an independent and original work of its author(s). The views and opinions expressed in these articles are
those of the respective authors. They do not represent the opinions of the Office of the District Attorney Kings County, Medgar Evers College,
The City University of New York, The Kellogg Foundation or each of their respective employees.
Acknowledgment
This publication is a follow-up to a Symposium on Race, Law and Justice: Strategies for
Closing the School-to-Prison Pipeline held on February 14th and 15th 2013 E\ WKH .LQJ¶V &RXQW\
District Attorney in partnership with Medgar Evers College, The City University of New York. All
authors that contributed to this journal participated as panelists at the Symposium and were asked to
submit their work due to their knowledge of, experiences with and research on the school to prison
pipeline. Some of the authors submitted articles they had previously written on the subject while
others wrote new ones. These experts include academics, advocates, criminal and juvenile justice
experts, legal experts, parents, policymakers, public health specialists, as well as school and religious
leaders.
Thank you to all the authors that contributed to and made this publication a superb reflection
of the Symposium on Race, Law and Justice: Strategies for Closing the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
As a result, this journal may serve in the future as a valuable resource and tool that not only
addresses the school to prison pipeline, but also provides outlined strategies and model programs
geared towards fixing the root causes of this significant issue.
Charles J. Hynes
District Attorney
Dr. William L. Pollard
President, Medgar Evers College
Joan B. Gabbidon
Senior Deputy District Attorney
Dear Reader,
On February 14-15, 2013, the Kings County District Attorney Office in partnership with
Medgar Evers College presented a Symposium on Race, Law and Justice: Strategies for Closing the
School-to-Prison Pipeline. The focus of the symposium was to address the problem in New York
and nationwide of so many of our young people ending up in the criminal justice system from our
schools, for minor infractions. The symposium was a success due to the many experts assembled
from across the nation, sharing their experiences, research, programs and strategies. Our panelists
included students, parents, community leaders, psychologists, educators, lawyers, judges and
advocates all of whom made significant contributions. To facilitate the discussion, the panelists were divided according to areas of expertise, with
specific topics based on their knowledge, experiences and research: Reality, Research and
Implementation, Practice of Policy, Impact on Community and Model Programs.
x
The Reality panel of speakers addressed the issue from a frontline point of view ± students,
parents, administrators and advocates vividly discussed the disciplinary actions of the school
system from their standpoint. This first-hand approach afforded the panelists a platform to
share their experiences, with a clear and in-depth look at the policies and the SDQHOLVWV¶
overall frustrations and concerns.
x
The Research and Implementation and Practice of Policy panels presented their findings from
the long-term and short-term studies on discipline in schools, and the effect such disciplinary
policies have on students. The panel discussions ranged from adolescent brain development
and the effects of early contact with the criminal justice system, to the overall effects the
VWXGHQWV¶LQYROYHPHQWZLWKWKHFULPLQDOMXVWLFHV\VWHPhas on society as a whole. Using their
research, the panelists stressed the importance of keeping kids in school and out of the
criminal justice system.
x
The community panel detailed the overall effects of having a disproportionate number of
minority youth from some communities imprisoned. They recounted the problems of
unemployment, low graduation rates, high crime rates, the lack of family structure and the
grave impact the combination of all these factors has on their communities.
x
The final panel discussed alternative strategies and programs across the country with proven
success rates and the importance of change. The panelists stressed the significance of
empowering students and making them responsible for their actions, diverting students with
non-violent infractions out of the criminal court system and developing meaningful
interagency cooperation between the school systems and the justice systems. The panel
emphasized both the need for change and the positive changes occurring across the country.
To advance the process of closing the pipeline, many panelists have graciously submitted
written articles to compliment their poignant discussions on various aspects of this issue. The
assembled articles not only highlight the various perspectives of the problem, they present numerous
strategies and notable actions taken to close the growing school-to-prison pipeline. The FRQWULEXWRUV¶
invaluable knowledge and expertise are combined in this journal to form a tangible point of action
and to continue the discourse necessary to protect our children. The problem is not one confined to
New York City; the ever-growing problem is nationwide.
I would like to once again offer my deepest gratitude to the contributing panelists for their
time, expertise and commitment to empowering our youth and helping to close the school-to-prison
pipeline. I hope this journal inspires others to join the fight to keep our kids in schools and out of
prisons. Together, we can ensure that our young people have bright futures ahead of them.
Sincerely,
Charles J. Hynes
District Attorney
Table of Contents
F rontline Point of V iew
1
Change the Lens
By Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education
3
Teachers Talk: School Culture, Safety and Human Rights
Executive Summary from a paper published by NESRI and Teachers Unite
By Elizabeth Sullivan, MPP, Progra m Director, Human Right to Education National Economic and
Social Rights Initiative (NE SRI), and Elizabeth Keeney, Researcher
Edited by Sally Lee, Founding Executive Director, Teachers Unite
A dolescent B rain Development
7
Closing the School to Prison Pipeline Through Disciplinary Policies Grounded in
Principles of Adolescent Development and Trauma-Informed Care
By Dr. Christopher Branson, SupHUYLVLQJ3V\FKRORJLVW6W/XNH¶V- Roosevelt Hospital Center;
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Columbia University
Racial T hreat W ithin E ducational Institutions
17
The Influence of Racial Threat in Schools: Recent Research Findings
By Kelly Welch, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Villanova
University
National Perspective
31
Out of School & Off Track: The Overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and
High Schools
An Executive Summary from a more in depth paper
By Daniel J. Losen, JD, M.Ed., Director, Center for Civil Rights Remedies The Civil Rights Project at
U CLA and Tia Elena Martinez, JD, Independent Consultant
39
Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Survey from the Field
By Matt Cregor, JD, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LD F) and
Da mon Hewitt, JD, Director, Education Practice Group at the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, Inc. (LD F)
Practice of Policy
47
(GXFDWLRQ&RUQHU³3ROLFLQJ%ODFN&KLOGUHQ5HVLVWLQJWKH&DOOWR(QKDQFH/DZ
Enforcement Presence in Schools
By Da mon Hewitt JD, Director, Education Practice Group at the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, Inc. (LD F)
Strategies and Model Programs
54
:KR¶VWKH$GXOWLQWKLV6LWXDWLRQ"0DNLQJWKH&DVHIRU7UDLQLQJ3ROLFHWR
be Developmentally Competent
By Lisa H. Thurau, JD, Founder, Strategies for Youth (S FY); President of the Board of Directors,
the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy
65
Solving the American Education Paradox: Keeping Students in School and Out of
the Courts
By Honorable Steven C. Teske, Juvenile Court Judge, Clayton County, Georgia
84
The Walk of What Works: Powerful Practices to Reduce Suspensions
By Nancy J. F ranklin, BCBA, Director of Least Restrictive Environment, Division of S pecial Education
for Los Angeles Unified School District
95
The Use of Restorative Practices as a Strategy for Closing the School-to-Prison
Pipeline
By John Bailie, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Director of Continuing Education, the International
Institute For Restorative Practices Graduate School
101
Ending Zero Tolerance with Models that Work
By Annette Fuentes, Journalist, Author, Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse.
Verso, 2011. Print.
112
Re-Inventing the Learning Day: How ExpandED Schools Can Help Address the
School-to-Prison Pipeline
By Lucy F riedman, President, The After-School Corporation (TAS C), and Elizabeth Olsson, Policy
Coordinator, The After-School Corporation (TAS C)
122
1HZ<RUN&LW\$OWHUQDWLYH(GXFDWLRQ3URJUDPV$¶VLQ&ORVLQJWKH3LSHOLQHWR
Prison
By Timothy F . Lisante, Ph.D., NYC D O E Superintendent of District 79
F rom a F aith Perspective
131
Starve The Beast
By Rev. Dr. Alfonso Wyatt, Elder, The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York; Founder, Strategic
Destiny: Designing Futures Through Faith and Facts
A ppendix I: A C ase Study Series on Model Programs
139
Building Safe, Supportive and Restorative School Communities in New York
City
By National Economic and Social Rights Initiative and Dignity in Schools Ca mpaign-New
York
:+2¶67+($'8/7,17+,66,78$7,21"0$.,1*7+(&$6()2575$,1,1*
P O L I C E T O B E D E V E L OPM E N T A L LY C O MP E T E N T
Lisa H. Thurau
Strategies for Youth (SFY)
³ I hope the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of
establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured
dams that block the flow of social progress´
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (April, 1963)
In June 2011, J.D.B. v. North Carolina held that by virtue of their age and development,
children and youth perceive police custody differently, and as a consequence, police must consider
the age of a suspect in deciding whether and when to Mirandize. Justice Sotomayor began the
decision for the majority by noting that,
$ FKLOG¶V DJH LV IDU µPRUH WKDQ D FKURQRORJLFDO IDFW´ ,W LV D IDFW WKDW µJHQHUDWHV
common-sense conclusions aERXW EHKDYLRU DQG SHUFHSWLRQ¶ Such conclusions apply
broadly to children as a class. And they are self-evident to anyone who was a child
once himself including any police officer or judge. [citations omitted]
In dicta, Justice Sotomayor appeared to express some impatience with the failure of police to
consider age. Writing for the Court, she admonished:
[O]fficers and judges need no imaginative powers, knowledge of developmental
psychology, training in cognitive science, or expertise in social and cultural
anthropology WR DFFRXQW IRU D FKLOG¶V DJH They simply need the common sense to
know that a 7 year old is not a 13 year old and neither is an adult.1
Why did the U.S. Supreme Court need to state this and so forcefully in 2011²more than one
hundred years after the creation of the first juvenile court? Nearly 40 years since enactment and
54
repeated re-authorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act,2 which regulates
the treatment of juveniles by police and incarceration facilities? And less than 8 years after the recent
flurry of U.S. Supreme Court cases invoking the unique characteristics of adolescence as reason to
prohibit states from executing juveniles3 or sentencing them to life without parole4 for crimes they
committed as juveniles?
Why are key stakeholders like police and many school administrators intent on using adult
approaches with youth that emphasize punishment, in spite of the mountains of evidence both
experienced and academic, suggesting that such practices are harmful and counterproductive? Why
do so many juvenile justice system stakeholders persist in attributing intent to adolescent behaviors?
:KHUHDUHWKHVWUXFWXUDOGLVLQFHQWLYHVIRUVWDNHKROGHUV¶³DGXOWLILHG´UHVSRQVHV"
I I.
N E I T H E R F ISH
NOR
F O W L : T E E NS
E.Z. Friedenberg, who published the first psychology textbook on the subject of adolescence
LQQRWHGWKDW³$GROHVFHQWSHUVRQDOLW\HYRNHVLQDGXOWVFRQIOLFWDQ[LHW\DQGLQWHQVHKRVWLOLW\´5
7REHVXUH\RXWKV¶EHKDYLRUFDQSURYRNHWKLVUHVSRQVH$V'U*ULVVRDQG5REHUW6FKZDUW]QRWHGLQ
WKHFRQWH[WRISROLFH\RXWKLQWHUDFWLRQV³-XYHQLOHGHYHORSPHQWDOFKDUDFWHULVWLFVVXFK as impulsivity,
self centeredness, and resistance to authority increase the chances that police-juvenile encounters
ZLOO LQYROYH FRQIOLFW GLVUHVSHFW DQG FRQIURQWDWLRQDO EHKDYLRU´6 Of course such behaviors also
appear in interactions with parents, teachers, administrators, neighbors, storekeepers, and peers.
And while the term adolescence is relatively new, dating back only to 1905 when it was first
coined,7 the exasperation teen conduct provokes is not a 20th century phenomenon. For instance,
3,000 years ago Socrates allegedly told Plato:
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they
allow disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children now are
tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the
room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at
the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.8
$QG 6KDNHVSHDUH H[SUHVVHG WKH ³DQFLHQWU\¶V´ FKDJULQ LQ $ :LQWHU¶V 7DOe , in a speech that
summarized all the ills associated with adolescence²insolence, disrespect, teen pregnancy, youth
violence²and a modest proposal for their soporific elimination in one charming sentence:
55
I would there were no age between sixteen and three-and-twenty, or that youth would
sleep out the rest; for there is nothing in the between but getting wenches with child
wronging the ancientry, stealing, fighting!9
There is overwhelming scientific evidence10 H[SODLQLQJ ZK\ WKH ³DQFLHQWU\´ LV LQFOLQHG to
ZDQWWRZLWKKROGWKHNH\VIRUWKHVH³PDFKLQHVEXLOWWRWHVWOLPLWV´11 It is now well and repeatedly
established that youth perceive the world differently than adults12 and use a different part of the brain
to process what they perceive.13 Teens process information using the amygdala, the part of the brain
that is central to emotions and impulses and that acts like an accelerator pedal,14 fueling intense and
impulsive responses.
7HHQ EUDLQV PDNH PRUH XVH RI WKH DP\JGDOD WKDQ WKHLU IURQWDO OREH ZKLFK LVQ¶W finished
growing until age 25.15 7KH IURQWDO OREH DFWV DV WKH EUDLQ¶V EUDNLQJ PHFKDQLVP KHOSLQJ \RXWK
sequence actions, anticipate consequences, and self-regulate.16 $QGLIWKDW¶VQRWHQRXJKGXULQJWKLV
SKDVHWKHUH¶VQHXUDOSUXQLQJRIWKHEUDLQFHOOV\RXth have not used17 (this may explain why parents
must repeat things 87 times before being heard) and the development of connections between brain
lobes18 (which may explain why youth have intermittent developmental leaps and insights one
minute and commit acts of boundary testing and risk taking the next).
Unfortunately, the solid evidence that this behavior is temporary and transitive and results
from enormous structural changes occurring in the brain, seems unable to compete with enduring
beliefs about the value of punishing youth through arrest, confinement, and stigmatization.
I I I.
D E M O NST R A T E D N E E D
FOR
SC H O O L PO L I C E T R A INI N G
Statistics about police/youth interactions demonstrate the harm of this approach. The Bureau
of Justice Statistics Survey (1997, 2002, and 2007) indicates that while 7.6% of the population is
aged 16-19, and represent only 3.5 of the entire population having police contact, this tiny group
represents 30.1 of police contact involving force. There is no data for police contacts for younger
youth but there is documentation that the single source of increased juvenile arrests between 1985
and 2005²which reached their lowest rate in 2010²is school-based arrests for simple assault.
While there is growing awareness that application of adult criminal justice system
approaches to youth is antithetical to positive outcomes, a tremendous scourge on entire populations
of youth, and in some instances can be fairly characterized as barbaric, some police systems working
56
in schools have been slow to recognize the harm they do using adult approaches. This is especially
WUXH LQ VRPH VFKRRO V\VWHPV ZKHUH UHSRUWV RI VFKRRO ³VDIHW\´ RIILFHUV EHKDYLRUV LQFOXGH XVH RI
unprovoked force, racial epithets and disrespectful language, disruptive altercations²exactly the
kind of behaviors that lead school officers to arrest youth.
In other schools, the presence of a school resource officer approaches the ideal: officers are a
presence, not involved with discipline, serving as a source of order and justice, and providing
support to parents who do not feel comfortable speaking to teachers or administrators. These officers
serve as a role model, a parent, a counselor and a positive socialization to law enforcement.
School administrators, school safety officers and municipal police, should not be allowed,
much less provided incentives, to treat teens as VKRUW DGXOWV ZKRVH ³\RXWKIXO LQGLVFUHWLRQV´
necessarily portend a lifetime of similar behavior, justifying withdrawal of a second chance and the
removal of any benefit of the doubt.
$QGWKDW¶VZKDWLVKDSSHQLQJLQPDQ\VFKRROV\VWHPVDFURVVWKH86ZKHUHWKHVWDQGDUGVIRU
discipline are higher for youth than for the police and security officers and administrators who hold
youth up to them. )URP\RXQJSHRSOH¶Vviewpoint, this invalidates the legitimacy of authority. As
-RKQ).HQQHG\SXWLW³<RXFDQQRWQHJRWLDWHZLWKSHRSOHZKRVD\µZKDW¶VPLQHLVPLQHDQGZKDW¶V
\RXULVQHJRWLDEOH¶´
I V. R E QUIRIN G D E V E L OPM E N T A L C O MPE T E N C E & T R A ININ G
FOR
O F F I C E RS W H O W O R K
WIT H
Y OUTH
The first step towards achieving change is ensuring that police and security officers receive
mandatory training in developmental competence. No other member of the school team is allowed
to work without certification and licensure in child development and understanding the special
developmental aspects of childhood and the special legal status that their immaturity and
vulnerability affords thHP([HPSWLQJSROLFHDQGVHFXULW\RIILFHUVLVLQQRRQH¶VLQWHUHVW
As gatekeepers of the juvenile justice system, national police standards promote recognition
that arrest should be a last resort, but little in the way of training for practices informed by
adolescent development and psychology. Without this change in mind set and tactics, the approaches
police academies teach recruits to use with youth do not differ from those they would use with
adults; they are simply downsized for younger clients with a reminder to recruits that different laws
apply.
57
The Juvenile Enforcement and Custody Policy and Concepts and Issues Paper 19 of the
,QWHUQDWLRQDO $VVRFLDWLRQ RI &KLHIV RI 3ROLFH ,$&3 UHFRPPHQGV WKDW WUDLQLQJ IRU ³WKH XVH RI
alternative enforcement strateJLHVVKRXOGEHGHILQHGPRUHFOHDUO\WKURXJKDJHQF\WUDLQLQJ´EXWRIIHUV
no more recommendations for officer training for policing youth.
But the IACP reported in its 2011 Juvenile Justice Training Needs Assessment, that over half
RIWKH³DJHQFLHVUHSUHVHQted had a decrease in, or abolishment of, training budgets in the last five
\HDUV´ 7KHUHSRUWDOVR QRWHGWKDWPRVWVWDWHV³GRQRW PDQGDWHMXYHQLOHMXVWLFHWUDLQLQJ DIWHU basic
DFDGHP\ OHYHO WUDLQLQJ´ The Commission for Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies
(CALEA) similarly recommends specialized treatment of youth in Standard 44, Juvenile
Operations.20 In Standard 33.6, supporting the broad category of Specialized In-Service Training,
&$/($ UHFRPPHQGV WKDW ³VXSHUYLVLRQ DQG PDQDJHPHQW RI VSHFLDOL]HG IXnctions includes
responsibility for ensuring persons assigned to the function receive adequate training and support
VHUYLFHV´
The revelation that many police officers had not received in-service training in the last 5
years, years when the U.S. Supreme &RXUWGLUHFWHGWKHQDWLRQ¶VOHJLVODWXUHVDQGVWDNHKROGHUVWRWUHDW
youth differently based on judicially recognized scientific, was shocking. Strategies for Youth, Inc.,
questioned, If officers are not learning about juveniles during in-service, what are they learning in
the academy?
From 2011 to 2012, SFY conducted a national survey of American police academies to
ascertain what training in juvenile justice officers in recruit academies. The results were published in
If Not Now, When? A Survey of Juvenile -XVWLFH7UDLQLQJLQ$PHULFD¶V3ROLFH$FDGHPLHV2013. The
study found that:
x
Only 1% of basic training is spent on juvenile justice issues,
x
Only 8 states provide information on the federally required obligation to reduce
disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in their juvenile justice curriculum,
x
Only 9 states provide new officers training on mental health issues,
x
Only 2 states provide any training in adolescent and psychology.
In short, the U.S. has fallen seriously short on preparing officers to work with youth resulting
in unintended and often harmful consequences for youth, who experience the highest rate of arrest in
the developed world.
58
The state of New York has not distinguished itself. The SFY report showed:
x
Only 5 hours of its 600 required academy hours are spent on juvenile justice,
x
2IWKRVHKRXUVKDOIWKHWLPHLVVSHQWRQFKLOGDEXVHEXWPDNHVQRPHQWLRQRI³FURVV
RYHU´\RXWKZKROHDYHWKHDEXVHDQGQHJOHFWV\stem and to enter the juvenile justice
system,
x
There is no training on adolescent development or
x
Academy training is limited to juvenile law; there is no information on child and
adolescent development and the issues regarding cognition, competence, and mens
rea they raise. The training does not provide training for best practices for use with
children and adolescents, much less those experiencing mental health issues or
responding trauma.
The lack of training for police officers working with youth in schools and outside of them is
DOOWKHPRUHGLVWXUELQJLQYLHZRIZKDWWKH1HZ<RUN6WDWHFXUULFXOXPFRQVLGHUV³DWWULEXWHVRIDQ
RIILFHUZKRLV HIIHFWLYH LQ GHDOLQJZLWK MXYHQLOHV´7KRVH DWWULEXWHVLQFOXGH ³NQRZOHGJHDEOHVHOIcontrolled, mentally alert, patient, flexible, understanding, talkative, impartial, motivated,
reasonable, willing to listen, consistent, considerate, friendly, positive, professional, competent.´
[emphasis added.]
If New York State values the education it provides youth, it will take action to prevent youth
disconnecting from it through school discipline and arrest policies that make schools a gauntlet more
akin to the streets than a safe haven. The first step to making good on its commitment to the students
it seeks to educate and protect, is for school systems and police departments to ensure that its
RIILFHUV VXSSRUW \RXWK DQG WKHLU FRQQHFWLRQ WR HGXFDWLRQ LQVWHDG RI EHFRPLQJ WKH ³JDPH FKDQJHU´
that disrupts it.
V.
W H A T D E V E L O P M E N T A L C O M P E T E N C E O F F E RS A U T H O R I T Y :
The time has come for states to require police and security officers to have developmental
competence when working with youth and to invest in training for them. In consultation with
psychologists, psychiatrists, adolescent development experts, juvenile defense attorneys and police
officers, SFY has developed the following definition of developmental competence:
59
-Refers to the uQGHUVWDQGLQJ WKDW FKLOGUHQ DQG DGROHVFHQWV¶ SHUFHSWLRQV DQG
behaviors are influenced by biological and psychological factors related to their
developmental stage.
-Is based on the premise that specific, sequential stages of neurological and
psychological development are universal&KLOGUHQDQGDGROHVFHQWV¶UHVSRQVHVGLIIHU
from
adults
because
of fundamental
neurobiological
factors
and related
developmental stages of maturation.
-Recognition that how children and youth perceive, process and respond to situations
is a function of their developmental stage, and secondarily their culture and life
experience.
-Alignment of expectations, responses, and interactions²as well as those of
institutions and organizations²to the developmental stage of the children and youth
they serve.
The case described below, demonstrates the value of promoting this concept. The only
remarkable feature of this story is that it is presently in federal court.
A New Mexico federal court judge recently received a complaint in November 2011
describing the story of a 13-year-old boy repeatedly belched in class. While this was
amusing to his pals, the teacher found it disruptive.21 Unable to get the 13-year-old to
stop, the teacher called the school resource officer. The officer refused to arrest the
boy for belching, but the teacher insisted and the officer arrested the boy.
The media indicted the officer.22 The school administrator and teacher were chastised. The
boy, fearing the loss of his status as a nationally ranked baseball player, fell apart. The mother
removed her son from the school and filed suit.
This lose-lose scenario is not unusual. At Strategies for Youth, we hear of such cases
frequently. For the adults involved, the result is frustration and defensiveness; for the youth
LQYROYHGWKHUHVXOWLVWUDXPDDQGGLVWUXVWDQGWKHGDQJHURXVOHVVRQWKDW³PLJKWPDNHVULJKW´
This is not what we want to teach our students.
This use of authority and the law contradicts everything they learn about their rights and how
the U.S. portrays its claim to exceptionalism.
60
Some incidents are resolved in court; many receive big headlines but little follow-up in the
media and even less change in school-based approaches to youth. There are often calls for
investigation, questions about racial bias, and further entrenchment of adversarial attitudes that lead
to expensive and usually unhelpful extensions of anguish for most of, if not all, the parties involved.
Rarely is there a systemic consideration of how the situation could have been avoided in the first
place.
V I.
C O N C L USI O N : W E C A N D O B E T T E R
If adults working with youth were both trained in and required to demonstrate developmental
competence, this knowledge goes a long way toward avoiding the escalation of minor incidents,
reducing arrests and school suspensions and alienating youth from authority in a way that harms
\RXWKV¶SURVSHFWV
This is how the situation could have been resolved:
The teacher would have realized that the boy was aiming to impress his classmates by
disrupting her teaching. She would have known that youth that age are motivated by
peer status, and that self-image with peers often trumps the self-interest of avoiding
trouble by obeying an authority figure.23 She would have offered the boy alternatives
to respond to the situation, and advanced probable consequences if he persisted
(detention after school, poor grade that prevents extracurricular participation in
sports). She could have also used the tried and true method of distraction, where the
teacher grabs the attention of all the other students, thereby isolating the
troublemaker.
If these tactics were ineffective, the teacher might have relied on other adults, including the
police officer, to break the escalating conflict, and to model how the boy needed to think through the
situation.
The simple imposition of a consequence for noncompliance ultimately created more
problems than it solved in this situation. Just as the power struggle between teacher and student
proved ineffective, the partnering of the teacher and police officer similarly yielded poor results. The
boy chose to use his limited repertoire of coping skills (resist!) and his developmental tendency to
³JRGRZQLQDEOD]HRIJORU\´WRVDYHIDFHZLWKKLVSHHUV²rather than obey an adult asking him to
stop belching.
61
A developmentally competent approach helps adults in authority positions, particularly
school staff and police, navigate with teens the complicated process of trying on different
personalities and testing limits as they converge on adulthood. As adults, recognizing what drives a
\RXQJ SHUVRQ¶V EHKavior, and providing alternatives in a developmentally competent manner,
increases the likelihood of teens choosing more appropriate strategies to plot a course through the
complex demands of adolescence²without sacrificing any adults along the way.
,W¶V time to include developmental competence as a core training element and skill set for
police and security officers. ,W¶VZKDWNLGVQHHGZKDWVFLHQFHVKRZVZRUNVDQGZKDWFRPPXQLWLHV
deserve.
References
1
J.D.B. v. North Carolina , 131 S.Ct. 2394 (2011).
2
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 5601-02 (West 2012).
3
Roper v. Simmons, 534 U.S. 551 (2005).
4
Graham v. F lorida, 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010).
5
E. Z. Freidenberg, The Generation Gap, 382 THE ANNALS OF THE AM. ACAD. OF POLITICAL & SOC.
SCI., Mar. 1969, at 32-42.
6
YOUTH ON TRIAL: A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE ( Thomas Grisso &
Robert Schwartz, eds., Univ. of Chicago Press 2000).
7
G. Stanley Hall, Adolescence: Its Psychology and Its Relation to Physiology, Anthropology,
Sociology, Sex, Crime, Religion and Education, 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. D. APPLETON &
COMPANY (1905).
8
Thomas R. McDaniel, S chool Discipline in Perspective, THE CLEARING HOUSE: A JOURNAL OF
EDUC. STRATEGIES, ISSUES & IDEAS, 369-70 (July 29, 2010).
9
William Shakespeare, THE WINTER¶S TALE (A NEW VARIORUM EDITION OF SHAKESPEARE) (Classic
Books Co. 2001).
10
David Dobbs, Moody. I mpulsive. Maddening. Why do teenagers act the way they do?, NAT¶L
GEOGRAPHIC, Sept. 2011, available at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenagebrains/dobbs-text.
11
Jason Graziadei, Police Hire Youth-Relations Consultant for Officers, News and Media,
Strategies from Youth available at http://www.strategiesforyouth.org/news_police_hire.htm
62
(statement of Police Chief Pittman) (³$WHHQDJHULVDPDFKLQHEXLOWIRUUHEHOOLRQ«7KH\¶UHWHVWLQJ
all limits of authority put on them by parents, by society, E\VFKRROVE\HYHU\ERG\´
12
Clare Ryan, Econ. & Soc. Research Council, Children and Adults See the World Differently,
Science Daily (Sept. 13, 2010), available at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100913153630.htm.
13
Taken from interview with Dr. Yurgelun Todd. Frontline: Inside the Teenage Brain (PBS Video
2001) (transcript of broadcasted interview available at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain /interviews/todd.html).
14
Id.; See also Harvard Health Publications, Understanding the Stress Response, Harvard Medical
School Harvard Health Newsletters (Mar. 1, 2011), available at
http://harvardpartnersinternational.staywellsolutionsonline.com /HealthNewsLetters/69,M0311b.
15
James Shreeve, Beyond the Brain, NAT¶L GEOGRAPHIC, available at
http://science.nationalgeographic.com /science/health-and-human-body/human-body/mindbrain/#page=1.
16
ACT for Youth Upstate Center of Excellence, Adolescent Brain Development, RESEARCH FACTS
AND FINDINGS 2 (May 2002) (A
collaboration of Cornell Univ. , Univ. of Rochester, and the NYS
Ctr. For School Safety).
17
Id. at 1.
18
Id.
19
IACP National Law Enforcement Policy Center, Juvenile Enforcement and Custody, CONCEPTS
AND ISSUES PAPER,
May 1994, at 2.
20
Standard 33.6, at 33-8, CALEA (2006 ed.).
21
Montoya v. Espanola Pub. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., No. CV 10-651 WPJ/LFG (D.N.M. 2010).
22
Jeri Clausing, Student Arrested for Burping In Class: Shannon Kennedy Sues Albuquerque
School, HUFFINGTON POST (Dec. 1, 2011, 05:45 PM), available at http://www.huffingtonpost
.com/2011/12/01/student-arrested-for-burping_n_1124179.html
23
Ironically, not all states require teachers to be educated in developmental differences; few states
require classroom behavioral management skills for conferring a certification.
63
Biography
Lisa H. Thurau
L isa H . T hurau, of Strategies for Youth (SFY), is an attorney and an anthropologist who founded
SFY, a nationally focused organization dedicated to improving interactions between police and
youth through training police and youth, promoting promising practices to improve public safety
while reducing arrests and the high rates of youth of color being pulled into the juvenile justice
system for low level offenses. From 1999 to 2008, at the Juvenile Justice Center at Suffolk Law
School in Boston, Lisa served as a public policy specialist and advocate for court-involved youth.
While at the Center, Lisa monitored the treatment of youth by various police departments, leading to
legislative hearings and a law suit resulting in the development of the SFY training program. In
2003, after settling a civil rights law suit on behalf of eleven teens challenging policing tactics used
by the MBTA Transit Police, Lisa persuaded the MBTA to allow her to train officers on the topics of
normative adolescent development, the demographic and cultural issues Boston youth face, and how
to use that information to de-escalate interactions. Lisa received her B.A. and 0DVWHU¶V. degrees in
Anthropology respectively from Barnard College and Columbia University, and holds a law degree
from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University. In addition to working with teens
in the educational and public safety context, Lisa has been extensively involved in teen pregnancy
prevention efforts as the president of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen
Pregnancy.
64
O ur Special T hanks to T hose W ho Provided Support for the
Symposium
The Staff of the Juvenile Crimes Bureau
Cornel C. Christie, Senior Photographer, Office of the Kings County District Attorney
H arold Williams, Technical Support, Office of the Kings County District Attorney
Benjamin Lee, Graphic Artist, Office of the Kings County District Attorney
Norberto Mendez, Supervising Graphic Artist, Office of the Kings County District
Attorney