Dive Brief:

• A new collection of state bills in California is looking to reduce the school-to-prison pipeline by, among other things, stepping up legal protections for juveniles and preventing those under 11 from being incarcerated.
• The new protections are part of a larger ongoing effort by the state to reduce the number of incarcerated youth, owing to research suggesting the juvenile criminal justice system should be based on rehabilitation.
• As of now, a judge's approval is needed before minors can be tried as adults, but the high financial costs for fighting court charges still imperil many families.

Dive Insight:

The school-to-prison pipeline, where students are referred to police for infractions committed in school, has been been a continuing problem — and recent reports have shown that children from minority backgrounds still make up a disproportionate number (88%) of those in the juvenile justice system and those tried as adults. 

Efforts are underway to curb the issue using a variety of novel approaches. In Los Angeles, officials are developing alternative juvenile prisons that focus on rehabilitation, such as yoga and art, with the goal of reducing recidivism by as much as half. Many districts are also using so-called "restorative justice" programs that bring students together in small groups to focus on conflict resolution before it becomes a larger issue. And in Denver, schools worked to revamp their discipline policies, which were found to push too many students out of school for small infractions, and has reduced its overall suspension and expulsion rate as a result.