Bars Over Books: How the Justice System Fails Juveniles

This article was published in the LSU Law Journal for Social Justice & Policy.

From the introduction:

“Despite having a right to receive an education like every child in Louisiana, incarcerated juveniles in Louisiana juvenile facilities are not receiving the adequate education they need to survive and prosper in a world outside incarceration. The Louisiana Constitution guarantees its children the right to an education that allows for individuals to have “equal opportunity to develop his full potential.”1 While the granting of this right sounds great in theory, in practice, the State seems to fall short both within the general student population, and the population of youths in the juvenile justice system. Approximately 85% of all juveniles who come into contact with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.2 This statistic means these students lack the basic literacy abilities to function in basic, everyday scenarios.3 According to the Department of Justice, criminal behavior and reading failure can be directly linked, so the importance of literacy cannot be overstated.4 This problem appears to be especially true in the context of juvenile offenders who have already been incarcerated and are looking to eventually reintegrate back into society as fully functional adults. The State is not successfully ensuring these students have not only an equal opportunity as students who are in regular public schools and an equitable one that ensures the students who need more are getting what they need to be competent at the basic skills of reading and writing.”