Pipeline to Prison: System fails special ed students

Rochelle Kenyon, SME for the Disabilities in Adult Ed LINCS Group brought the below linked article in Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger newspaper to my attention: http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/10/25/pipeline-prison-system-fails-special-ed-students/17918123/

It is a heart-twisting tail of what we in correctional and adult education see far, far too often, and fight against every day. The story starts by describing the young man highlighted in the article as:

"A special education student, Jennings qualified for extra help in school. Those services should have carried over to the justice system, but Jennings said he never even attended class while in jail. Now 20, he is still unable to read or write."

Unfortunately, as the article points out, the percentage of students with learning disabilities within juvenile correctional facilities is nearly six times that of the general population. While the circumstances at all facilities across the country are not as dire as those highlighted in this article, there is much more than can, and should, be done.  David Domenici, Founder and Director of the Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings (www.ceeas.org), is quoted in the Mississippi article and has done much to bring attention to, and create changes in, educational programming for adjudicated juveniles.  I encourage you all to take a look at the above linked article, as well as to take a look at David's website to see where we are, and where we hope to go...

-- Heather Erwin

 

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