News & Notes
THE NEW LEADER: A JOURNAL OF GENERATIONAL POLICY & POLITICS
“How the First Step Act can have Lasting Impacts on Women in The Criminal Justice System”
By: Rexanah P. Wyse, Esq.
The FIRST STEP Act sets the foundational framework to reduce recidivism among federal prisoners. As more information is revealed about the needs of incarcerated women and the disparities black women face within the criminal justice system, let us keep our legislators accountable to ensure that the needs of our incarcerated neighbors are addressed appropriately.
NBC NEWS
“California's first surgeon general: Screen every student for childhood trauma”
By: Patrice Gaines
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris has an ambitious dream: screen every student for childhood trauma before entering school.
"A school nurse would also get a note from a physician that says: 'Here is the care plan for this child's toxic stress. And this is how it shows up,'" said Burke Harris, who was appointed California's first surgeon general in January.
Toxic stress suffered by children because of ACEs can also result in health issues that cause absenteeism.
"The higher the ACEs score, the more likely a child is to miss a day in school," Burke Harris noted. "Asthma is the No 1 reason for chronic absenteeism, and kids with four or more ACEs experience a higher percentage of asthma."
EMPOWERING EDUCATORS: UNDERSTANDING AND DISRUPTING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE
Blog Series
Students face a number of challenges that educators are often on the frontlines to respond to from truancy, family trauma, homelessness, criminal justice issues, hunger, language access, and behavioral concerns. In Title I schools these concerns are often exacerbated by poverty experienced by students and families. I am launching a series to assist educators both confront and address these challenges. This article series will present a high-level overview of the school-to-prison pipeline, contributing factors that impact learning, and tools for maintaining youth and family engagement. Readers will gain an understanding of the juvenile justice system and strategies to empower educators to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
Executive Summary: Report on Truancy and Dropout Prevention
From Legal and Educational System Solutions for Youth: Report From a Leadership and Policy Forum on Truancy and Dropout Prevention, Executive Summary
”Education is key to a successful and independent adult life, yet each day in the United States, hundreds of thousands of youth are absent from school. These youth, many of whom are truant, are at great risk of dropping out of school. Absence and truancy are powerful indicators that a youth will begin using drugs, commit assaults and property crimes, and fail to graduate from high school. As a nation we do not know how many are considered to be “truant” because truancy has yet to have a national definition. While there are no national truancy data available, many local jurisdictions report increasing rates of truancy and chronic
AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH
National Bullying Prevention Month: October 2019
“The Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2018 reports that 20 percent of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the 2017 school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines bullying as any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated.
As more is being learned about the negative psychological and physical effects of bullying, researchers are focusing on how to address the problem. The research and resources featured here relate to efforts to prevent violence in schools and help young people feel safe and supported.”
GAO u.S gOVERNMENT aCCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
K-12 EDUCATION: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities
What GAO Found
Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO's analysis of Department of Education (Education) national civil rights data for school year 2013-14, the most recent available. These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended. For example, Black students accounted for 15.5 percent of all public school students, but represented about 39 percent of students suspended from school—an overrepresentation of about 23 percentage points.
THE NEW LEADER: A JOURNAL OF GENERATIONAL POLICY & POLITICS
“Truancy and Chronic Absenteeism and our Collective Responsibility”
By: Rexanah P. Wyse, Esq.
As jurisdictions across the country grapple with how to effectively address truancy, a number of questions arise on what to do. Should a court system penalize parents? Should a court system penalize students? Does criminalizing the behavior help students reengage with school, or simply exacerbate the issue? Should the courts even be involved?”
S1:E3 BIAH HELPING GIRLS THRIVE & DISRUPTING THE SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE WITH REXANAH P. WYSE, ESQ.
Blooming is a Habit Podcast with Dr. Stephanie Akoumany
Black and brown girls act out in schools and at home when they feel disrespected, misunderstood, & overwhelmed by daily stressors and adverse childhood experiences. Rexanah Wyse, Esq., Founder of Empowered Strategies LLC joins Blooming is a Habit Podcast for episode 3 to share how she helps educators to understand how shaming, stigmatizing, and unfairly expelling black & brown girls’ can increase girls’ entry into the juvenile justice system, thus stifling their chances of future academic, economic, and mental wellness.
Dr. Akoumany is host of Blooming is a Habit a podcast series highlighting innovative solutions to complex social challenges discovered by students, parents, educators, business professionals, business owners, and women & girls of all colors as they pursue their passions and create careers and/or businesses of their dreams.
University of Baltimore School of Law
UB Law in Focus Discussion Series
Part of the Examining Structural Racism segment of the UB Law in Focus Discussion Series
UB Law alumnae Alejandra Morisi, J.D. '14 , senior attorney at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); Rexanah Wyse, J.D. '13 , chief of staff at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; and Mike Mitchell , executive director of Foreign-Born Information and Referral Network (FIRN), joined UB Law professor Elizabeth Keyes , who directs the Immigrant Rights Clinic, for a conversation on ImmigRacism
The panelists have championed immigrants in multiple spheres, from the immigration and family courts to accessing public benefits and addressing homelessness. The panel examined racism at the United States borders and inside the country as immigrants endeavor to access justice and human rights.