Black Girls Are Being Pushed Out of the Classroom
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We have a pressing discipline problem that begins in classrooms and for far too many children ends in prison.
An 11-year-old denied making a threat and was allowed to return to school. Tennessee police arrested him anyway.
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In late September, Torri was driving down the highway with her 11-year-old son Junior in the back seat when her phone started ringing.
It was the Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy who worked at Junior’s middle school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Deputy Arthur Richardson asked Torri where she was. She told him she was on the way to a family birthday dinner at LongHorn Steakhouse.
“He said, ‘Is Junior with you?’” Torri recalled.
Earlier that day, Junior had been accused by other students of making a threat against the school. When Torri had come to pick him up, she’d spoken with Richardson and with administrators, who’d told her he was allowed to return to class the next day. The principal had said she would carry out an investigation then. ProPublica and WPLN are using a nickname for Junior and not including Torri’s last name at the family’s request, to prevent him from being identifiable.
When Richardson called her in the car, Torri immediately felt uneasy. He didn’t say much before hanging up, and she thought about turning around to go home. But she kept driving. When they walked into the restaurant, Torri watched as Junior happily greeted his family.
Soon her phone rang again. It was the deputy. He said he was outside in the strip mall’s parking lot and needed to talk to Junior. Torri called Junior’s stepdad, Kevin Boyer, for extra support, putting him on speaker as she went outside to talk to Richardson. She left Junior with the family, wanting to protect her son for as long as she could ...
A campus shooting spurred her political awakening. Her whole family followed.
TUCSON, Arizona — Adriana Grijalva was getting ready to head to class at the University of Arizona in the fall of 2022 when she got a text message from her cousin telling her to stay put. The cousin, who works in maintenance at the university, had watched law enforcement descend on campus and reached out to make sure she was safe. A former student had just shot a professor 11 times, killing him.
Justice organization announces new youth restorative justice partners
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) announced October 8 that it will partner with four new communities to build new restorative youth justice diversion programs. Restorative justice includes an accountability process that identifies root causes of youth criminal actions, while providing an opportunity for healing both for the person harmed and the person who has caused harm.
A Louisiana law meant to fight teen violence is sweeping 17-year-olds arrested for lesser crimes into adult court
Louisiana is the only state to pass and then reverse Raise the Age legislation. Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Is reversing Raise the Age making a difference in the number of violent crimes by 18-year-olds?
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New Toolkit Issued to Help Providers Measure Trauma With ACES Survey
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A new toolkit is out that aims to help services providers give a survey about traumatic childhood experiences that are linked to negative effects on health and well-being.
The Secret Behind Youth Justice Reform: Youth
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We sometimes skip class, talk back to teachers and experiment with marijuana. I was shocked to learn that in some areas of the United States teens are arrested and detained for these minor offenses.
Juvenile justice reform organizations fail to recognize the power of empathy between kids. There are a lot of us — 41 million — and we can make a difference.
Pennsylvania Won’t Disclose Names of Doctors Prescribing in Youth Corrections
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The state defied an Office of Open Records ruling and took the matter to court to conceal the names of doctors prescribing to kids confined in its six correctional facilities.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services insisted the physicians who care for and prescribe to the state’s most chronic or violent youth offenders would be endangered if their names were made public.
7 Organizations Get Awards for Programs for Girls in Juvenile Justice System
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Seven organizations will have a chance to further their efforts to help girls in the justice system thanks to more than $650,000 in funding from the National Girls Initiative.
‘Disturbing Schools’ Law and School Resource Officers Criminalize Teens
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The video of a school resource officer violently slamming an African-American teenage girl to the floor and then dragging her across the classroom when she refused to get out of her seat spread across social media on Monday, and was soon picked up by the national media.
Documentary Aims Spotlight on Broken Juvenile Justice System
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She was 11 and in the sixth grade when she went to jail, eventually landing in solitary confinement. Nicole never imagined a petty fight at her Louisiana middle school would lead to years behind bars.
American Friends Calls for Private Prison Company Divestment
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The American Friends Service Committee is the latest group to call for investors to move their money away from private prison companies, saying it’s unethical to profit from prisoners.