Does Locked Up Mean Locked Out? The Effects of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 on Black Male Students’ College Enrollment

American Behavioral Scientist

Luna

2021

Although college enrollment and completion rates have increased over the past 30 years, access to higher education has not been uniform across racial groups. In addition to racial gaps, differences in tertiary education outcomes exist by gender. Gender gaps in college enrollment are larger in the Latinx community than in other racial or ethnic groups. In this paper, we use the October Current Population Survey (CPS) supplements for the years 1984–1992 and state and federal drug laws to measure the impact of the passage of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act on the likelihood of college enrollment for young Latino men. Following the passage of the federal law, some states changed their drug laws around marijuana and cocaine possession and distribution. We use this variation in state law in order to explore whether states that have more lenient marijuana and cocaine laws also have a higher likelihood of college enrollment. We find that there was a four percentage point decline in both the likelihood of high school completion and that of college enrollment for Latinx men after the passage of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Findings have implications for modifications to state drug laws and addressing the ways in which these laws impact educational attainment for students underrepresented in higher education.

Section: Data and Empirical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of State Drug Laws on High School Completion and College Enrollment for Latino Young Men

American Behavioral Scientist

Luna

2021

“…However, the impact of more stringent carceral policies and an increased likelihood of incarceration on human capital acquisition warrants study. While an extensive body of research explores the link between incarceration and secondary education (Aizer & Doyle, 2015;Hirschfield, 2009;Hjalmarsson, 2008), less work explores the relationship between incarceration and college (Britton, 2021;Kirk & Sampson, 2013). Fifty-six percent of Black men between the ages of 20 and 39 years held in state prisons in 1997 had completed high school or attended college-and were thus potential college students (Harlow, 2003).…”

Section: Punishment and Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Opportunity and the Carceral System: Sentencing Policies and Black Men's College Enrollment

The Review of Black Political Economy

2021

Self Cite

This paper explores whether the Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which increased the disproportionate incarceration of young Black men, was also associated with changes in the likelihood of college enrollment for Black men in states with more punitive sentencing laws. I measure the association between the introduction of state sentencing laws, such as truth-in-sentencing (TIS), and college enrollment. These laws could have decreased the likelihood of Black male college enrollment by removing these men from the population in the years in which they would have attended college. To explore the impact of the passage of sentencing laws on college enrollment, I carry out a differences-in-differences analysis and an event study from 1992 to 2000. In the years after TIS passed, significant decreases occurred in the likelihood of college enrollment for Black young men when compared to the college enrollment of young White men in TIS states. However, there were no significant decreases when comparing college enrollment of young Black men in TIS states with enrollment for young Black men in non-TIS states. With respect to state sentencing schemes, voluntary guidelines, determinate sentences, presumptive recommended sentences, presumptive determinate sentences, and recommended determinate sentences were associated with a lower likelihood of college enrollment for Black men.

“…However, often invisible systemic levers contribute to differentiated levels of access to college information and pathways to enrollment based on race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and zip code (see Britton, 2019; Buchmann, 2009; Engberg & Wolniak, 2010; Huerta et al, 2020; Klugman, 2012; McDonough, 1997; Perna, 2000). Some challenges for minoritized students in K-12 include differential access to college preparatory work in secondary schools, college counseling services, and gatekeeper bias against youth of color and youth in the carceral system (Britton, 2021; Huerta et al, 2020; Johnson, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Less empirical and theoretical work explores how the criminal justice system impacts access to postsecondary education (Giraldo et al, 2017). Further, only a few publications have explicitly focused on the emerging nexus between access to and success in higher education and criminology (Britton, 2021; Huerta et al, 2020; Johnson, 2015). This special issue will focus on the transitions and experiences in postsecondary institutions for system-impacted youth and adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nexus of Carcerality and Access and Success in Postsecondary Education

Huerta

American Behavioral Scientist

2022

Self Cite

This special issue of American Behavioral Scientist focuses on college preparation, access, and success for individuals impacted by carceral systems and practices in K-12 and higher education. Carcerality is (in)formal rules that center discipline, punishment, and control of individuals. Most recently, the embodiment of carceral practices has become more visible throughout the educational system, particularly for students of color. Attitudes, practices, and policies shape how K-12 and higher education students are perceived and treated as risks. In turn, these attitudes and policies lead to decisions about whether students merit investments that increase the likelihood of success in the education system. In the face of these structural barriers, students resist and overcome these policies and the systemic underinvestment in their education. This volume of articles centers the interconnection between education and criminal (in)justice to understand how both fields interact and position minoritized students in the social, academic, and behavioral margins. Articles explore the experiences of system-impacted students in K-12, higher education, theoretical application of risk, the impact of carceral laws and policies on educational access, and response to practices and policies that can counter carceral efforts in education systems.