The Heavy Cost of a High School Drug Offense

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The Washington Post has a story about the harsh realities of drug offenses, even minor ones, in high school. The story, by Donna St. George, focuses on a teen facing some slim college choices after school officials in Fairfax County, Va., imposed stiff penalties on him for bringing a device to school that is used for smoking marijuana. The point of the piece is to show how families, and now some school systems, are struggling with the repercussions of school policies that can vastly alter the lives of young people.

New Graduate Program in Criminal Justice Offers Advanced Knowledge

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A new master’s degree program in Criminal Justice begins in the fall at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. The Master’s of Science in Criminal Justice features eight experienced faculty members and an expanded curriculum that includes courses such as “Critical Issues in Criminal Justice” and “Criminal Justice Policy and Analysis.”

A summer study abroad program gives students a chance to participate in experiential education in another country. The current undergraduate program in Criminal Justice includes 650 students.  Kennesaw State University is the third largest university in Georgia and faculty and students will be provided a number of research opportunities in collaboration with several centers in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  

Upcoming Conferences To Highlight Juvenile Justice, Crimes Against Children

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Juvenile justice and child welfare issues will be the focus of two upcoming national conferences. The Washington, D.C.-based Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is sponsoring the “Conference for Children's Justice & Safety
 Unite, Build, Lead” October 10-14 in National Harbor, Md. The four-day forum will bring together juvenile justice practitioners and policymakers from across the nation to review current trends and promising practices in juvenile justice. The “Conference for Children's Justice & Safety 
Unite, Build, Lead” will feature workshops, plenaries and keynote sessions beginning October 12. Topics covered will include crimes against children, anti-gang strategies, children's exposure to violence, disproportionate minority contact, girls' delinquency, tribal youth programs, emergency planning for juvenile justice, faith-based and community involvement, mentoring, truancy and bullying and substance abuse.

The Best of B.E.S.T.

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The school year is winding down, but there’s always plenty of work to be done at B.E.S.T. Academy at Benjamin S. Carson. The faculty and staff always have their hands full trying to motivate and inspire students at the all-male Atlanta Public School. Ninth is currently the highest grade, but the ultimate goal is to expand through 12th by 2013. B.E.S.T. is an acronym standing for Business, Engineering, Science and Technology, which is the focus of the curriculum at the sprawling $30 million school named in honor of Carson, a renowned African-American neurosurgeon. Students are immersed in a rigorous academic curriculum, which includes language arts, social studies, reading, math and science.

Newt Gingrich Among Conservatives Backing NAACP Prison Reform Report

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Former Georgia congressman turned Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is among a group of big name conservatives supporting a new NAACP study pushing for a major criminal justice system overhaul. The former U.S. House speaker has joined other fellow conservatives in promoting the civil rights organization’s latest report, highlighting racial disparities in incarceration rates and the imbalance between prison funding and education spending around the country. Dubbed “Misplaced Priorities,” it asserts there is an inverse relationship between exploding prison budgets and massive cutbacks in public higher education funding. “Over the past 20 years, nationwide spending on higher education increased by 21 percent, while corrections funding increased by 127 percent,” said Robert Rooks, director of NAACP Criminal Justice Programs. “Even during the recession, education budgets dropped while a majority of states have continued to increase the amount they spent on prisons. During that same time we’ve seen higher education costs in states being shifted to working families.”

Rooks said it is time for a major paradigm shift in regards to the nation’s criminal justice practices.

Conference Organizer Weighs In On Roots Of Black Male Crisis

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This weekend Ayo Tinubu, 31, teams up with his longtime mentor, former-Atlanta-City-Councilman-turned-AM-1380-WAOK-radio-show-talk-show-host Derrick Boazman, to host the fifth annual “Let Us Make Man: The Gathering to Reclaim Black Manhood.” The two-day forum at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., a small town about 100 miles outside of Atlanta, aims to provide resources for parents, children, educators, churches, community organizations, criminal justice industry workers and child advocates to acquire the knowledge and resources needed to help legions of young black males in crisis. The forum focused on “redefining black male hood” includes an awards ceremony for exceptional male mentors and breakout sessions that explore such topics as “Law & Black Society,” “Mentoring,” “Educating Black Males,” “Spiritual Development,” “Restoring the Black Family” and “Black Youth Leadership.” Tinubu says he can relate to the challengees many young black males face in our society because he once faced similar problems. He shares with JJIE his perspective on the underlying issues facing young men of color and how he feels this event seeks to address them. JJIE: What made you get involved in Let Us Make Man (LUMM)? TINUBU: Derrick Boazman has been a part of my life since I was in high school. I wanted to get involved to help him and I believe in this event.

Marijuana Found in 5-Year-Old’s Backpack

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A mother is accused of putting marijuana in her 5-year-old daughter's school backpack in Gwinnett County, Ga., according to wsbtv.com. When the girl got on her school bus the driver noticed a strange  smell coming from her clothing and her backpack. When the driver asked the child about it, the girl pulled out 10 small baggies of marijuana packaged for sale. She told the driver her mom put it there. After police obtained a search warrant  to the child’s home, investigators found a relaxant and two grams of crack cocaine.

Earlier Classes May Cause More Teen Auto Accidents

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A new study suggests that early class times for high school kids may result in more car accidents. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, compared weekday crash rates of 16- to 18-year-olds in two Virginia school districts. Crash rates were 41 percent higher in a district where classes began at 7:20 a.m., more than an hour earlier than the second district where classes began at 8:40 a.m.

Researchers say that later start times would allow teens to get an adequate amount of sleep thereby increasing alertness during their morning commutes. "We believe that high schools should take a close look at having later start times to align with circadian rhythms in teens and to allow for longer sleep times," study author Robert Vorona, MD, said. "Too many teens in this country obtain insufficient sleep.

A Sad Tale of Sexting

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See this story in Sunday's New York Times of 14-year-old Margarite's mistake in 2010 that led to her own humiliation and altered the lives of so many around her.

Student Files Suit for Being Handcuffed to File Cabinet for Day

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A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the Atlanta Public School system and the Atlanta Police Department by a student who says officers handcuffed him to a file cabinet for the school day, reports The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The lawsuit says Tony Smith, a former student at Grady High School, was taken by officers and a assistant principal to a small room where he was handcuffed. The suit says Smith did nothing wrong, but only witnessed a student take two dollars from another student’s wallet. The incident occurred in 2009. The suit also said the two Atlanta Police officers had been found by the city’s Citizen Review Board earlier to have violated police department procedures.