Beyond the Classroom: The School-To-Prison Pipeline as a Public Health Crisis

The School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPPL) is primarily positioned in the discourse relating to education and criminal justice yet its public health implications remain underexplored. This commentary draws the connections between STPPL and social determinants of health on Macro, Mezzo, and Micro levels. The STPPL disrupts access to mental health care, nutritional programs, and safety systems embedded within schools. Exclusionary practices such as suspensions and expulsions disconnect students from critical services that promote psychological stability and physical well-being Obsuth et al. (2024). National data identifies that Black and Brown students experience disproportionate rates of exclusion, reinforcing systemic inequities and chronic stress linked to poor health outcomes (Warren, 2021). Viewing the STPPL through a public health lens highlights the need for interdisciplinary research that examines how educational exclusion contributes to health disparities across the life course. This article concludes that addressing the STPPL requires coordinated responses between social work, education, and public health systems. Recognizing exclusionary discipline as a public health crisis reframes prevention and belonging as essential components of youth health and equity Marmot and Wilkinson (2006), Obsuth et al. (2024).