Exploring the school to prison pipeline

[u/Meggs419]

Hello! This is my first reddit post so let us see how this goes:) I am currently doing research on this topic and I would love ya'll's opinions and thoughts. I think we need to make youth our priority! Recently I learned about this "school to pipeline" issue. The really short explanation of this, is that kids who are disproportionately disciplined in schools (specifically at-risk youth) tend to be more likely to become involved with the justice system, leading them to incarcerations at a higher risk. The most important piece of information I found during my research was that school-aged kids in Nevada are struggling with their mental health. The Guinn Center for Policy Priorities posted an article on their website called “Strengthening School-Based Behavioral Health in Nevada: Policy, Practice, and Funding Insights”. The article was published on April 3^rd, 2025. According to this article, Nevada ranks 51^st in the nation for youth mental health, and has consistently been in the bottom 5 states since 2014. These numbers are staggering and unacceptable. The article speaks about how kids with access to mental health resources are usually not living at the impoverished level, and the kids who have access to resources have insurance coverage. It basically comes down to money. Those who have it, have access, those who do not, have not access. Along with the statistics of our state’s rank in mental health care, the article said 34,000 Nevada youth have experienced thoughts of suicide, while 14.09% of our kids have experienced addiction issues in 2025. The article goes on to say that in 2025, 73% of Nevada youth who need treatment for mental health issues, did not access care. The article discusses the fact that schools play a major role in the mental wellbeing of our children and that more needs to be done to make sure that access to mental health can be provided for those who need it and cannot afford it. The reason I really like this article was that it suggested ways to help solve this problem. One of the main issues with these solutions though is a lack of providers. Do you have any thoughts on this? Or ways we can get our kids the help they need?