Faith was 13 years old when school officials first gave her an out-of-school suspension. This was the first of 20 suspensions for minor incidents she received as a student. Once, it was for hugging her boyfriend too long. Another time, because she was eating crackers in the hallway.
Montana’s public-school system selectively denied Faith’s fundamental right to an education by removing her from the academic setting for typical adolescent behavior. Unfortunately, Faith’s experience is not unique.
In our new report, Empty Desks: Discipline & Policing in Montana's Public Schools, we document the use of school-based referrals to law enforcement, arrests, and the “days lost” due to out-of-school suspensions. These abuses harm students, our communities, and our state. Students across Montana -- in elementary, middle, and high schools -- lost more than 18,000 days of instruction due to out-of-school suspensions during 2015-16 alone. They were referred to law enforcement more than 1,100 times and were arrested 326 times.
Indigenous Students, Students of Color, and Students With a Disability More Likely to Be Disciplined or Have Interactions With Police
- Indigenous students experienced the highest disparities: they lost nearly six times the amount of instruction as white students and were arrested more than six times as often as white students.
- Black students lost nearly three times the amount of instruction as white students.
- Latinx students lost 1.5 times the amount of instruction as white students.
- Students with disabilities lost more than twice the amount of instruction as students without disabilities and were arrested twice as often as students without disabilities.
- Students on reservations and students who attended schools with the regular presence of law enforcement officers lost more days of instruction than their peers.
Days Lost per 100 Students
Referrals per 10,000 Students by Race
Arrests per 10,000 Students by Race
The numbers -- and the disparities -- are clear and troubling.
Schools should be a supportive and safe space for all students to learn. Too often, however, students are forced out of school. This matters: students who experience exclusionary discipline are less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to be unemployed and ensnared in the criminal justice system. When students are forced out of school, it's costly to our communities and state, but more importantly it robs students of their right to an education.
Schools with Arrests
The Harm on Indigenous Students is Compounded by the Horrific Legacy of Colonialism
Exclusionary discipline and interaction with law enforcement harm all students. That harm is compounded for Indigenous students, however. Indigenous communities continue to endure historical trauma and economic and social disparities from a long history of discrimination and brutality under colonization. We must bear this history in mind when examining how exclusionary discipline and over-reliance on police in schools affect Indigenous students.
Montana’s Schools Lack Mental Health Staff
Nationwide data show that schools that employ school counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychologists see improved attendance rates, lower rates of exclusionary discipline, improved graduation rates, and improved school safety. However, many Montana schools do not meet the recommended ratio of school-based mental health staff, including nurses, social workers, psychologists, or social workers. About 12 percent of Montana’s schools do not have any support staff at all.
Montana Must Move Away From These Harmful Practices
About half of Montana’s public schools did not give students out-of-school suspensions, and just 33 schools accounted for all of the arrests that occurred in Montana’s schools. Arrests and suspensions are not necessary components of managing student behavior.
All of Montana’s schools should use evidence-based disciplinary practices that create better outcomes for all students. We owe that to our children. Our report includes detailed recommendations for state lawmakers, school administrators, educators, school boards, and students and guardians. Check out the report and learn how the schools in your area are doing when it comes to discipline and law enforcement.
Date
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 - 10:00am
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Set Up to Fail: Montana's Probation & Parole System -- read the report here!
Overview
In Montana, hundreds of people—462 people in 2017—are incarcerated each year for technical or compliance violations of probation or parole. State research demonstrates that most of these individuals are returning to custody not because they’ve committed a new crime, but because they broke a rule of their supervision.
Indigenous people, already significantly overrepresented in the Montana prison system, are also more likely to return to prison for a technical violation. Between 2010 and 2017, 961 Native Americans were incarcerated as a result of a probation violation, 81% of whom were placed in custody for a compliance or technical violation of their probation— not for a new crime. Comparatively, white people were 5% less likely to return to prison for a compliance or technical violation.
In the last year, Montana has made important legislative changes to address the procedural reasons that lead individuals into state custody for technical or compliance violations. However, in the absence of meaningful reentry and community rehabilitative services, it is likely that people will continue to incur supervision violations and enter or reenter state custody as a result of those violations or related new crimes.
ACLU research, conducted between November 2017 and March 2018, suggests that the primary reason for which people are unsuccessful on community supervision is a combination of unmet treatment needs (for substance abuse and mental health in particular) and unmanageable costs associated with supervision requirements. Instead of being an alternative to custody, community supervision (probation and parole) in Montana is actually a significant feeder of incarceration.
Against All Odds: Melissa's Story of Success in Spite of the Criminal Justice System
Read the story of Melissa Smylie: a mother, former AmeriCorps member, student, and community advocate. She had to overcome incredible odds to escape the criminal justice system. “I have reclaimed my life, but re-entry into life after being convicted and incarcerated was hard. The barriers the probation system created made recovery nearly impossible. I was successful because I found ways to get active, volunteer, and be of service to others. I filled my days with this, so that I wouldn’t be thinking about giving up…."
Why Are So Many Indigenous People in Montana Incarcerated?
Indigenous people have suffered several centuries of injustice at the hands of the United States government. In Montana, the injustices continue, particularly when it comes to the scourge of mass incarceration. Read more from our research team here.
ACLU of Montana Recommendations for the State of Montana
- Develop holistic defender services that can provide assistance and support to people on supervision to find housing, treatment, transportation, and required or otherwise appropriate programming;
- Provide community mental health and substance abuse treatment—particularly in rural areas— to ensure that people on supervision can be successful upon reentry and have continuity of care upon release from custody;
- Develop achievable goals that recognize the reality of dealing with poverty and environmental circumstances;
- Allow and encourage probation offices to reduce probation terms and to reduce in-person check-ins where appropriate;
- Recruit Indigenous staff in probation, parole, and other public service positions (including for treatment and diagnosis of mental health and substance abuse) to work with Indigenous people on supervision; and
- Accept and support traditional tribal programs and traditions as part of the rehabilitative process.
Get Involved
Are you currently or have you been on probation or parole? If so, we would love to connect and share your story! Contact us at media@aclumontana.org.
Do you want to help us push for reform in the probation and parole system? Fill out the Volunteer Form.
Are you a state legislator who wants to reduce the harmful impacts of probation and parole for Montanans? Contact SK Rossi, Director of Advocacy and Policy.
Date
Monday, September 10, 2018 - 9:00am
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New reports from the ACLU and MergerWatch reveal that one in six hospital beds in the U.S. is in a facility that complies with Catholic directives that prohibit a range of reproductive health care services, even when a woman’s life or health is in jeopardy. In some states, more than 40 percent of all hospital beds are in a Catholic-run facility, leaving entire regions without any option for certain reproductive health care services. The ACLU’s
report shares firsthand accounts from patients who have been denied appropriate care at Catholic hospitals, from health care providers forbidden from providing critical care because of the Directives, and from physicians at secular hospitals who have treated very sick women after they were turned away from a Catholic facility.
The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which are promulgated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, set forth standards for the provision of care at Catholic health care facilities. The Directives prohibit a range of reproductive health services, including contraception, sterilization, many infertility treatments, and abortion, even when a woman’s life or health is jeopardized by a pregnancy. Because of these rules, many Catholic hospitals across this country are withholding emergency care from patients who are in the midst of a miscarriage or experiencing other pregnancy complications. Catholic hospitals also routinely prohibit doctors from performing tubal ligations (commonly known as “getting your tubes tied”) at the time of delivery, when the procedure is safest, leaving patients to undergo an additional surgery elsewhere after recovering from childbirth. Catholic hospitals deny these essential health services despite receiving billions in taxpayer dollars. Transgender and gender-non-conforming patients suffer the same and other, similar harms when seeking reproductive health care.
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Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - 1:15pm
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