school police debate: school security guard looks out over cafeteria full of students

A Wisconsin district debates the effects of terminating school police

Madison is one of about 49 public school districts nationwide that, according to Education Week, have trimmed or eliminated school policing programs since 2020. While some districts that removed police officers have reported largely positive results, in Madison, some students, parents and educators are considering what they believe they’ve lost.

JJIE HUB Latest: Juvenile Juctice Center modern red brick and cement building with black sign

JJIE Resource Hub: Federal funds to slash student suspensions; trying adults as children; and other topics

Unspent American Rescue Plan funds to lower the number of students who wind up in the juvenile justice system. The impact of racial disparities resulting from handling children through the adult criminal justice system. Innovative law school partnerships to aid youth simultaneously in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. How children without lawyers fare in immigration proceedings...  Juvenile Justice Resource Hub curates those and other analyses, reviews and research on juvenile justice policy, practice, reform and programs.

police: Protesters hold signs that say police-free schools now

Opinion: We Are Terrified Police in Our Schools Will Harm Us

Every day, I walk into school greeted with silencing stares from armed police officers. They’re not facing the windows or the doors looking out for a stranger who could walk in and hurt my friends and me. Their eyes are on us, not some external threat. We walk past them silently, afraid that anything we do or say will be perceived as a “threat” that will lead to suspension, arrest or worse, physical harm. 

Our schools have normalized this fear by allowing officers to patrol our hallways and criminalize us. In my county, a police officer was celebrated for tasing a Black freshman girl three times inside her school cafeteria.

Black and brown students: Elementary school teacher who’s a man of color helping student of color in classroom

Opinion: Marginalized Youth Need Real Change in Schools, Courts, Other Systems

I discovered my purpose when I was 21 years old, and the man I’d tackled during a pick-up football game shot me three times in my legs. He was upset that I’d tackled him so hard. It made me want, profoundly, to understand my fellow player’s extraordinary anger and, perhaps, that of other Black and brown kids whose life circumstances had pushed them down the wrong path ...

disability: cheerful boy with disability in chair with tray in front of him with toy

Opinion: Behavioral Challenges Can Push Youth With Disabilities Into School-to-Prison Pipeline

Who are youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)? The population of youth with IDD is vast. In 2018-19, the number of students ages 3–21 who received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was 7.1 million or 14% of all public school students. You may know some better-known IDDs such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, to name a few. 

What you may not know is that many youth with IDDs may have behavioral challenges associated with their disability due to communication barriers, which in turn may evolve into behavioral problems such as property destruction, harm to themselves, harm to others or elopement. However, often the student with IDD behavior serves a purpose and is most likely functional. 

For example, consider someone with ASD.