Abstract
This paper focuses on the implications of Peter P., et al. v. Compton Unified School District, et al., a lawsuit filed on behalf of Compton Unified School District (CUSD, Compton, California) students and teachers who have experienced complex trauma, meaning repeated exposure to not only interpersonal harms and deprivation, but also to institutional and structural inequities and injustices. These exposures are then compounded by schools’ reliance on punitive measures, in conjunction with the school-to-prison pipeline. The lawsuit argues that CUSD’s lack of appropriate response to the disabling effects of such trauma constitutes a violation of U.S. federal disability law in denying access to a meaningful education. This paper thus illuminates the groundbreaking, but complicated, potential of using disability law to compel schools to implement trauma-sensitive practices that reject educational policies of marginalization and criminalization, particularly of students of color. In so doing, this paper also addresses, and responds to, recent calls from within the discipline of critical disability studies to engage with discourses and experiences of trauma.
Presenters
Allison HeinemannSenior Lecturer and Director of Writing, School of Industrial and Labor Relations (Global Labor and Work), Cornell University, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Disability, Race, Law, Education, Access, Trauma, School-to-Prison Pipeline
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