The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how 7th-12th grade teachers described their active and passive transfer of the social capital elements of social structure and individual actions to at-risk youths during the reentry process into the general classroom in a Southwestern school district. The theoretical foundation of…

Reentry, also referred to as transition, is a critical component in preparing at-risk youth in juvenile justice facilities for successful postrelease outcomes. However, successfully preparing these youth for reentry into the community and back to traditional K-12 schools is still difficult for many justice facilities. With the continued calls for…

Reentry services for young offenders need to be youth-focused and inclusive of the multiple entities that support a youth's return to the community. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding from stakeholders' perspectives, based on experience, to identify challenges and facilitators to support young offenders' reengagement in…

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…

Youth with disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, yet they are generally less successful post-release in the domains of recidivism, school completion, and employment as compared to their nondisabled peers. The purpose of this literature review is to identify empirical transition practices that benefit youth…

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…

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…

Despite efforts to improve college student success, such as through first-year initiatives, significant numbers of students at two- and four-year institutions still do not persist past the first year to graduation. The challenges only increase for community colleges serving diverse populations such as first generation, low income, and immigrant…

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.

High school students with disabilities who drop out are costly to society. Compared to those who graduate, they are more likely to be unemployed, dependent on public services, and involved in the criminal justice system. Consequently, helping students with disabilities graduate has become a prominent national concern. Students with disabilities…