RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO EMPHASIZE EDUCATION OVER INCARCERATION

WHEREAS, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Black Police Association (NBPA), Blacks In Government (BIG), and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) have issued statements and resolutions calling for an end to America’s “War on Drugs” and profligate prison spending;

WHEREAS, according to the NAACP, the United States is home to 2.3 million prisoners and accounts for five percent of the world’s population, yet houses twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners;

WHEREAS, one-quarter of the 2.3 million people behind bars in the United States have been convicted of non-violent, drug-related offenses, and, as a result of the War on Drugs, have been mandated prison sentences rather than drug rehabilitation or diversion programs;

WHEREAS, BIG and LEAP have noted that the War on Drugs has placed African Americans behind bars for drug offenses at more than ten times the rate of Caucasians, and African Americans constitute 53.5 percent of all persons who have entered prison due to a drug conviction, despite the fact that they are no more likely than Caucasians to use or sell drugs;

WHEREAS, many of those incarcerated have low levels of educational attainment, high levels of unemployment, and often are victims of substance abuse;

WHEREAS, according to the Pew Center on the States, over the past two decades, funding for prisons has grown at a rate six times higher than funding for higher education;

WHEREAS, the construction of more prisons has not reduced recidivism and has not increased public safety;

WHEREAS, as states and municipalities are facing budgetary shortfalls, teachers are facing layoffs, schools are closing, extracurricular programs are being eliminated, and class sizes are increasing;

WHEREAS, low-performing schools in poor, African-American and Latino communities serve as a pipeline for the prison system;

WHEREAS, in April of 2011, the NAACP published a report called “Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate, Under Educate,” in which it revealed that more than 65 percent of the lowest-performing schools in Houston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia are in neighborhoods with the highest rates of incarceration;

WHEREAS, in major cities with large black populations such as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Atlanta, high school dropout rates approach, and in some cases, surpass 50 percent;

WHEREAS, certain communities bear a greater burden for incarcerated populations, and in Los Angeles, for example, more than a billion dollars is spent every year to imprison people from neighborhoods where nearly 20 percent of the city’s residents live;

WHEREAS, similarly, in Philadelphia, taxpayers spend nearly $290 million on the imprisonment of residents from neighborhoods that represent just over one-quarter of the city’s population;

WHEREAS, a lack of educational opportunities leaves less advantaged citizens with fewer options to feed their families and increases the odds they will resort to drugs or crime to survive;

WHEREAS, the War on Drugs, the growth in prison spending, and cuts to education are tearing at the fabric of the black community; and

WHEREAS, an adequate and affordable education is necessary if Americans hope to maintain a healthy and productive society. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) urges federal, state, and local governments to choose investments in education over incarceration where possible, while maintaining funding to properly care for those that are incarcerated;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL calls for investigations at the state and federal level for solutions to eliminate the arrest and incarceration of African Americans, Latinos, and other racial and ethnic groups at extraordinarily disparate rates for non-violent drug offenses;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL calls on state and federal governments to review and eliminate biased law enforcement operations, practices, and policies;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges legislators to devise cost-effective, common-sense alternatives to prison for non-violent offenders, including reforms such as parole, earned time and early release, drug rehabilitation and drug court, modification of mandatory sentencing laws, communitybased prevention programs, and education, job training, and reentry programs;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL fully supports a wide range of programs that aid communities in ending recidivism; examples include but are not limited to Promise Neighborhoods, Second Chance Act Grants, Byrne Grants, Weed and Seed Grant Violence Against Women Act Grants, Reintegration of Ex-offenders Grant, the Pathways out of Poverty Program, Community Services Block Grant, Child Care and Development Block Grant, and the Substance Abuse Block Grant;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL asks the United States Congress to increase funding to these programs and put more funding into early intervention in the lives of at-risk youth, as that funding is the best way to mitigate prison costs; BE IT FURTHER RESOVLED, that the NBCSL calls for the full funding of the Second Chance Act, as its grant programs comprise the best federal funding mechanism targeting recidivism reduction;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL reiterates its full support for legislation, such as the Youth Promise Act as introduced by United States Congressman Bobby Scott, as the best way to aid in early intervention to help America’s youth avoid prison;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the chair of each state legislative black caucus, the presidents of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments, and the presiding officers of all 50 state legislatures including the chairs of each committee having jurisdiction over education and prisons; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

SPONSOR: Representative Ronald G. Waters (PA)
Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
Certified by Committee Chair: Senator Thelma Harper (TN)
Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 9, 2011
Ratification is certified by: Representative Barbara W. Ballard (KS), President