Here are three things YOU can do RIGHT NOW to learn more about the school-to-prison pipeline and help to dismantle it!
1. Encourage your school and district to make SMART school safety decisions
Parents, students, educators, and policy makers across the state are discussing ways to keep campus communities safe. We must make sure that schools are adopting research-based approaches that work to build strong school communities and do not end up harming students, instead of protecting them. Ideas like increasing regular police presence in schools and reverting back to “zero tolerance” discipline hurt students and create negative school climates. Check out our Keeping Schools Safe resource page and our printable Back to School Safety/ Seguridad en el Regreso a Clases guides to learn more about the best ways to keep all students safe in their schools.
2. Urge a young person you know to join Austin’s Youth Justice Collaborative
In 2017, the Austin City Council voted to end its Juvenile Curfew Ordinance, a harmful law which created a Class C misdemeanor for young people between 10 and 17 years old who were out of school during the day or not in their homes between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am. While it was considering the ordinance, the City convened a workgroup to make recommendations about ways Austin could support young people without criminalizing them or pushing them into the school-to-prison pipeline.
The Youth Justice Collaborative continues to meet monthly and is always looking for new members, especially young people! Please contact Rocio Villalobos at rvillalobos@texasappleseed.net or 512-351-3929 if you are a young person who would like to join the group or if you know a young person who you believe should join the group.
The next meeting is on March 21st at 6:00 pm!
3. Contact the Department of Education and tell them NOT to rescind the Federal Discipline Guidance Package
The Federal School Discipline Guidance Package, issued by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice in 2014, is being threatened. Recent media reports show that the U.S. Department of Education is receiving input from a few select groups that may lead the Department to rescind these important guidelines that help us to protect Texas students from harmful and discriminatory punitive discipline practices. Check out the video below to learn more about about how you can help Texas students, and go to our Voter Voice page to easily send a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to urge her to keep the Federal School Discipline Guidance Package in place.
And, check out the statements issued by our partners from the Dignity in Schools Campaign and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Click on the video to learn more about with The School Discipline Guidance Package is so important!