Post on 22-Apr-2023
SPEAKING ABOUT THE UNSPOKEN
THE RAMIFICATIONS OF ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICIES FOR WOMEN OF COLOR
Kathy Mariscal & Chloe Sikes, University of Texas at Austin, Cultural Studies in Education
QUESTIONS & INITIAL FINDINGSHow are female students of color criminalized through the implementation of zero-tolerance policies in unique ways different from men?What are the corresponding impacts for education policy?
Zero-tolerance policies’ impacts: Gender disparities Cultural racism Criminalization of communities of color
THEORYCritical Race Feminism (CRF) attends to the intersectionality of race, gender, sex and class in a non-hierarchical framework.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) argues for the critical examination of law and policy with a racial lens turned on differential power dynamics, but does not attend explicitly to gendered aspects of policy.
Disrespect Disruption Dress- code violation
Truancy Loudness
Frequently cited infractions of Black female students and other women of color in schools.
Subjective, culturally-biased, reflect White norms of femininity, NON criminal offenses
CULTURAL RACISM
POLICY IMPLICATIONS School to prison pipeline Academic retention, devaluing and “push out” Diminished sense of security and safety in
schools Violence committed against students and
communities by schools and policy
POINTS OF CONSIDERATION ZT gender/race policy research ZT effectiveness reexamined Action research involving students most
impacted
REFERENCESCrenshaw, K. W., Ocen, P., & Nanda, J. (2015). Black girls matter: Pushed out,
overpoliced and underprotected. New York, New York: African American Policy Forum, Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies.
Giroux, H. A. (2003). Zero tolerance, domestic militarization, and the war against
youth. Social Justice, 30(2), pp. 59-65.
Smith-Evans, L., & Goss Graves, F., et al. (2014). Unlocking opportunity for African American girls: A call to action for educational equity. New York, New York: The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The National Women’s Law Center.
Teske, S. C. (2011). A study of zero tolerance policies in schools: A multi-integrated
systems approach to improve outcomes for adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 24(2), pp. 88-97.