This document summarizes the five schools districts profiled during the 2021-2022 school year that are building walls between schools and the justice system, engaging in restorative policies and practices, working to eliminate bias and disproportionality, and providing all children with fair and equitable access to high-quality opportunities. The…

The juvenile justice system, in its origins, was designed to meet the unique needs of youth who committed law violations. The underlying premise is that the rehabilitation of youth would ultimately lead to reintegration into school, community, and the workforce, as well as avoidance of future involvement with the juvenile or adult justice systems.…

Located in Harris, Texas, Aldine Independent School District (ISD) serves 67,130 students. Despite being categorized as a richly diverse district with vast opportunity, there are generational disadvantages regarding education attainment and economic status. Poverty is the common denominator of all students across the district, regardless of color.…

Located in southwestern Pennsylvania near the borders of Maryland and West Virginia, the district has 1,483 students, with 21% minority enrollment. The district and its students have experienced many of the problems related to the opioid epidemic, including many students being raised by grandparents due to parental drug use. The district has three…

On a given day, more than 43,000 youths who largely identify as students of color and are disproportionately male are held in residential placement facilities as a result of involvement with the juvenile justice system. More than two-thirds of youths living in placement facilities who participated in a national survey shared aspirations to…

Located in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, Riverhead Central School District draws students from three townships: Southampton, Brookhaven and Riverhead. This suburban district has just fewer than 6,000 students and is diverse, both racially and in socioeconomic status. Demographics in the district have changed over the past 20 years or…

In the United States, more than 70 million students are enrolled in public elementary and secondary (K-12) schools or degree-granting postsecondary institutions. School and campus safety and security for these students encompasses many issues, including violence prevention and response, school climate, and the physical and mental health of the…

Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) was the only high school district profiled as part of this project. The high school district is made up of 13 elementary districts that feed into it and has 11 comprehensive high schools, four small specialty schools, three micro-schools, three support schools and a digital…

Laws and regulations across the United States require that all students, including those in the custody of the juvenile courts, probation services, or other child-serving agencies, receive education services. Too often, because of short lengths of stay and logistical challenges associated with student mobility, educators and juvenile justice…

This brief is a compilation of lessons learned from the American Youth Policy Forum's (AYPF's) last two years of work focused specifically on systems-involved youth. Following a discussion about the education and workforce barriers these youth face, their outcomes, and the policies that affect them, this brief is organized into three key lessons…

This "Equity by Design" brief defines societal and academic barriers to school reentry, discusses considerations, and provides practical recommendations for equitable reentry into the school community.

Collaboration between special educators and transition coordinators is important to lower recidivism rates among juvenile offenders with disabilities. This column provides best practice transition guidelines and urges special education teachers, special education coordinators, and transition coordinators in juvenile correctional facilities to…

The third edition of the National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth's (NDTAC's) "Transition Toolkit" provides updated information on existing policies, practices, strategies, and resources for transition that build on field experience and research. The "Toolkit" offers…

In this professional development research brief, the author sets forth the overarching considerations that should be kept in mind when conceptualizing professional development for educators working with neglected or delinquent youth (N or D). The brief begins by defining professional development and demonstrating why it is a critical support for…

The Title I, Part D (Part D) Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act," allocate funds to states and school districts to improve educational services for these youth.…