Reforming Juvenile Justice Requires Innovating Equity in Education

As many as 85 percent of students in juvenile justice are said to have some type of learning disability (National Council on Disability, 2015). A root cause analysis of indicators across societal systems reveals a pattern or chain of events which lead to this contemptible outcome. A contemptible outcome that represents the detriment of millions of children and families used to feed a cycle that erode the emotional and mental wellbeing not only of individuals, but the societies in which they live; not only erodes emotional and mental wellbeing but stands as a hallmark for the devaluing of human life. A contemptible outcome that must be interrupted. Research and best practices are available to disrupt this alarming statistic and with it reduce the number of students ever becoming systems-involved with juvenile justice. Using a synthesis of research and review of best practices, this article identifies problems, offers insights and strategies for intervention, revealing a solution that could put an end to the school-to-prison pipeline