FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION WITH FOURTEENTHAMENDMENT

EDUCATION FOR ALL

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution, adopted on July 9, 1868, represents a pivotal moment in American legal and social history. Enacted as part of the transformative Reconstruction Amendments, writers of the amendment attempted to address the profound changes in the nation following the Emancipation Proclamation. The amendment's unequivocal assertion, "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," was meant to serve as a cornerstone of civil rights in the United States but was not upheld by many politicians, governors and states. Black schools, also referred to as "Negro schools" were racially segregated schools in the United States that originated in the Reconstruction era after the American Civil War. They were created in Southern states under biracial Republican governments as free public schools for the formerly enslaved. All their students were blacks. After 1877, conservative whites took control across the South. They continued the black schools, but at a much lower funding rate than white schools. Individuals fighting for education among freed Americans born from ex slave began rallying that the Fourteenth Amendment was established to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances, are entitled to equal treatment under the law. This principle of equality is fundamental to the American legal system and has been the basis for numerous landmark Supreme Court cases that seek to dismantle discriminatory practices and uphold the rights of marginalized groups. The remarkable Reconstruction Amendments, often referred to as the Civil War Amendments, encompass the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which were adopted in a relatively short span from 1865 to 1870. These amendments were crucial in reshaping the societal landscape of the American South and the nation as a whole, as they sought to integrate formerly enslaved individuals into the fabric of American society.

The Thirteenth Amendment, which was proposed in 1864 and ratified in 1865, played a vital role by abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This marked a significant shift in the legal status of millions of African Americans, granting them freedom and the potential for citizenship rights. In contrast, the prison–industrial complex (PIC) is a term that has emerged in contemporary discourse to describe the complex web of relationships between institutions of imprisonment—such as prisons, jails, detention facilities, and psychiatric hospitals—and the myriad businesses that derive economic benefit from them. Drawing inspiration from the "military-industrial complex" of the 1950s, this term is utilized by scholars, activists, and critics to highlight the systemic issues surrounding incarceration in the United States. One in ten male dropouts between the ages of 16 to 24 are either in prison or in juvenile detention. According to a report by The Hamilton Project, there is nearly a 70 percent chance that an African-American man without his high school diploma will be imprisoned by his mid-thirties.  There is a 16.6 percent unemployment rate for African-Americans without a high school diploma, showing that men in this demographic have about the same chance of being incarcerated than being employed. Juvenile incarceration decreases the likelihood of high school graduation by 13 percent. Additionally, those who are incarcerated as juveniles are 15 percent more likely to be incarcerated as adults for violent crimes, and 14 percent more likely to be incarcerated as adults for property crimes, a concept known as recidivism. The probability of incarceration increases with childhood experiences with the juvenile justice system, often times with minor crimes, such as property crimes. Students from low-income families are 2.4 times more likely to drop out than middle-income students, and over 10 times more likely to drop out than high-income students. Moreover, 36 percent of students with learning or physical disabilities do not graduate high school. It is common for dropouts to have a history of being retained from advancing a grade level, relocating during high school, or having a general feeling of alienation with their peers at school. “There is a higher chance of the people who dropout [of high school] to go to prison because they don’t have a high school education to get a higher paying job, so that results in deviant behavior. The consequences of high rates of incarceration affect more than just the individual. Incarceration is extremely expensive for American taxpayers. In 2010, the United States spent more than $80 billion on correction expenditures at the federal, state, and local levels, which fund the supervision, confinement, and rehabilitation for adults and juveniles convicted of offenses against the law. To put that into perspective, in 1980 it cost $17 billion. When including expenditures for police protection and judicial and legal services, this cost increases to $261 billion.

According to a 2013 Alliance for Excellent Education report, the United States could save up to $18.5 billion in annual crime costs if the high school male graduation rate increased by five percent. Additionally, this increase in male high school graduation rate would result in a decrease in annual incidences of assault by 60,000, larceny by 30,000, motor vehicle theft by 31,000, and burglaries by 17,000. The national average for educating a student is $12,643, while the annual state average cost for housing an inmate is $28,323. If our nation put more efforts and funding towards education rather than incarceration, it would show a drastic change by increasing high school graduation rates, therefore decreasing rates of crime and costs of incarceration. “Schools could lower their dropout rates by trying harder to inspire students to learn,” Palmer said, “especially in inner-city schools and schools with [fewer] opportunities for their students.” Overall, reducing the rates of high school dropouts would not only benefit the individual, but benefit the nation as a whole, by decreasing taxes, creating more jobs, and boosting the economy. In this day and age, a high school diploma is absolutely essential to have a stable career and life; therefore, the education system should make efforts to encourage all students to complete their high school education, regardless of their circumstances. Schools must focus on providing education and opportunities, rather than unfairly reprimanding and discouraging students during their crucial stages of development and growth.

How many of you have heard rumors regarding the alleged closed-door meeting back in the 1990s, between key figures within the music industry and investors of private prisons combing resources and market influence to promote and distribute gangster rap music that promotes criminal behavior in order to help local, state and federal authorities fill private prisons. The growth of the U.S. inmate population has not only fueled conspiracy theories but increased significant financial profits for investors of private prisons and fostered a political environment where these entities wield considerable influence over public policy.

The Holding Tank

The implications of the prison–industrial complex extend far beyond the walls of correctional facilities. It encompasses a broad array of stakeholders, including construction companies that build new prisons, food service providers that supply meals to inmates, healthcare facilities that offer medical services, and technology vendors who provide surveillance and corrections equipment. Additionally, the complex includes corporations that contract for cheap prison labor, correctional officers’ unions that advocate for the interests of their members, and private probation companies that manage offenders in the community. Both educated and uneducated individuals contributing to the country's GDP or gross domestic product. Prisoners account for a percentage share in the monetary worth of a nation's goods and services in which wealth is divided among the country's population to tell us its GDP per capita. The shift in immigration policies and available documented workforce has witnessed the call for law and order echoed within campaign rallies and network news.

Challenges persist, as individuals who were previously incarcerated and lack a high school diploma or GED experience unemployment rates 2 to 5 times higher than their counterparts experience higher recidivism than individuals released within society with ample resources and lifestyle changes. How many individuals do you know or heard rumors of, went back inside the prison population because of relapsing and became a repeat offender into criminal behavior. The conspiracy theories of wall street analysts and millionaires increasing financial portfolios from the 1980s onward, has not reached the level of importance as the Epstein files. With the reduction in educational federal budget and huge staff cuts in necessary departments, parolees facing recidivism without a high school diploma or G.E.D or access to programs focusing on psychological well-being, education, and vocational skills, continues the cycle of recidivism and its subsequent toll on criminal justice systems.

This gap varies by race and gender, with majority of the prison population deriving from urban areas. A 2008 study found that incarceration before the age of 17 decreases the likelihood of graduating high school by 26%. Alarmingly, around 40% of state prisoners have not completed high school, while only 16% possess a high school diploma. Nationally, 68% of all males in prison do not have a high school diploma. In California, only 20% of inmates have basic literacy skills. Juvenile incarceration reduces the probability of high school graduation by 13%. The Bureau of Justice statistics show that 68% of those incarcerated in state prisons did not complete high school before release. individuals having a difficult time readjusting back within society without a high school diploma face incarceration.

life in prison

Astonishingly, about 1 in 3 incarcerated adults have less than a high school education, either before or during incarceration, while only 14% of the general population lacks a high school diploma. In 2014, 1 in 365 prison inmates did not finish high school. One major surprise: prisons seem to be paying incarcerated individuals less now than in 2001. The average minimum daily wages for non-industry prison jobs is now 86 cents, down from 93 cents in 2001. The average maximum daily wage for these jobs has decreased more significantly, from $4.73 in 2001 to $3.45 today. What changed? At least seven states appear to have reduced their maximum wages, and South Carolina no longer pays wages for most regular prison jobs – assignments that paid up to $4.80 per day in 2001. With few exceptions, regular prison jobs remain unpaid in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. Incarcerated individuals working for state-owned businesses earn between 33 cents and $1.41 per hour on average – roughly twice as much as those in regular prison jobs. However, only about 6 percent of state prison inmates receive these “higher” wages. An even smaller fraction of incarcerated workers are eligible for “prevailing local wages” by working for private businesses that contract with states through the PIE program. The vast majority spend their days working in custodial, maintenance, groundskeeping, or food service jobs for the institutions that confine them.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is prepared to act swiftly now that the President can proceed with the layoffs and distribute the department’s responsibilities across other federal agencies. During his campaign, Trump promised to close the department, and McMahon has indicated that the department has a “final mission” to transfer its duties to the states.

Trump and McMahon acknowledge that only Congress can fully dissolve the Education Department, but they have both proposed that its primary functions could be allocated to different federal agencies. One major decision involves reversing Biden's student relief programs and managing federal student loans, a $1.6 trillion portfolio impacting nearly 43 million borrowers. In March, Trump suggested that the Small Business Administration might handle federal student loans, but a June court document revealed that the Treasury Department is expected to assume this responsibility. The Education Department stated it was negotiating a contract with Treasury, but talks were paused when the court intervened. Now, those discussions are anticipated to resume shortly.