Dive Brief:
- Nationwide, state and local prison spending has increased at triple the rate of spending on public education in the last 30 years, and in seven states, the increase was 5 times as fast, according to a U.S. Department of Education analysis of spending trends.
- U.S. News & World Report writes that 23 states increased spending per prisoner at more than double the rate they increased per-pupil spending in the pre-K-12 system, prompting an analysis of national priorities — especially given the savings that could come from investing in prevention.
- Compared to per-pupil education spending, Wyoming increased per capita spending on corrections the most, followed by South Dakota, West Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, Mississippi, Arkansas, North Dakota, Colorado and Oklahoma.
Dive Insight:
Just two states, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, bucked the trend of increasing prison spending faster than educational spending. Secretary of Education John King Jr. said Thursday the report does not include a policy analysis for each state to begin a conversation about best practices, but that one of the goals of this report is to prompt exactly that research.
The United States has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of its prisoners. The school-to-prison pipeline is alive and well, with students getting pushed out of school through excessive punishments and, in too many cases, referred to the juvenile justice system. This puts them behind, academically, and without a school focus on reintegration strategies, often ensures they’ll get trapped in a cycle that leads to dropping out of school and ending up in prison.