Why Are Poor Students Being Targeted In School?

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PushBlack
June 3, 2019

Lunch shaming. It’s a hot topic that’s become a nationally discussed issue since a Rhode Island school district made headlines in early May 2019. And the reason is unlike any other you may have heard before.

Essentially, in these alternative lunch programs, students whose parents haven’t paid their lunch debt are subjected to eating cold sandwiches while peers are afforded hot meals. Some are even marked to show they owe money.

It’s reminiscent of a larger system that punishes people for being poor. That is, America.

Lunch shaming is a microcosm of a system that criminalizes poverty.

According to Mitali Nagrecha, director of the National Criminal Justice Debt Initiative, “In the United States, many jurisdictions rely on fees and fines for revenue for the criminal justice system and for other programs. This has led to an increase in fees assessed across the country and more aggressive collection tactics, including time in jail.”

Poor people and Black communities are targeted most.

Schools use shame as a collection tactic, as if preparing poor students for a predatory system that targets them. And it’s negatively impacting their self-esteem and psyches, according to experts.

After public outrage, several school districts have shut down alternative lunch programs. Instead of shaming students, how our criminal justice system punishes those in need needs addressing.

Perhaps, if addressed, Black students in this position won’t expect discrimination. They’ll expect progress.

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