Quick Facts on Edication in the Juvinile Justice System

Here are some quick facts I that I thought I would share to help shed some light on a topic that effects education, legislation and most importantly adolescents with special needs.  

·         Seventy percent of children in the juvenile justice system have educational disabilities -- the vast majority have an Emotional Disturbance (ED) and/or Specific Learning Disabilities.

·         Children with ED fail more courses, earn lower grade point averages, miss more days of school, and are retained more often than other students with disabilities.

·         Children with ED have the lowest graduation rates of all children with disabilities, nationally, only 35% graduate from high school (compared to 76% for all students).

·         Children with ED are three times more likely to be arrested before leaving school, when compared to all other students.

·         For children with ED who drop out of school, 73 percent are arrested within five years.

·         Children with ED are twice as likely to live in a correctional facility, halfway house, drug treatment center, or "on the street" after leaving school, when compared to students with other disabilities.

·         Children with ED are twice as likely to become teenage mothers as students with other disabilities.

Acknowledgements:

Wright, P., & Wright, D. (2012, 04 11). Juvenile justice. Retrieved from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/jj.index.htm disabilities.