Cops Nab 5-Year-Old for Wearing Wrong Color
Shoes to School
In Mississippi, if
kindergarteners violate the dress code or act out in class, they may end up in
the back of a police car.
A story about one five-year-old particularly
stands out. The little boy was required to wear black shoes to school. Because
he didn’t have black shoes, his mom used a marker to cover up his white and red
sneakers. A bit of red and white were still noticeable, so the child was taken home
by the cops.
The child was escorted out of school so he and
his mother would be taught a lesson.
Ridiculous? Perhaps. But incidents such as
this are happening across Mississippi. A new report, “Handcuffs on Success: The
Extreme School Discipline Crisis in Mississippi Public Schools,” exposes just
how bad it’s become.
Released on January 17, the report is a joint
project between state chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the
Mississippi Coalition for the Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse and the
Advancement Project.
The report examined more than 100 school
districts and claimed that black students are affected by harsh disciplinary
actions at a much greater rate than their white peers. It notes that “for every
one white student who is given an out-of-school suspension, three black
students are suspended, even though black students comprise just half of the
student population.”
Carlos McCray, an associate professor at
Fordham University Graduate School of Education in the Education Leadership
Administration Program, says, “Research has shown that students who are
subjected to multiple suspensions and expulsions are more likely to drop out of
school. And we all know where this leads.”
This isn’t something
new in Mississippi. Last October, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit
against officials in Meridian, Miss., for operating a school-to-prison
pipeline.
“The needless criminalization of Mississippi’s
most valuable asset—its children—must be dealt with immediately by school
leaders and the communities they serve,” said Nancy Kintigh, the ACLU of
Mississippi’s program director, in a statement.
“Zero-tolerance policies were originally
designed to protect students from individuals who pose a threat on school
grounds. Instead, they are being used to send children home for trivial things
that should be solved in the principal’s office.”
Mississippi has long struggled with its
education system.
It ranks sixth lowest among the 50 states in
graduation rates. On a recent Science and Engineering Readiness Index, the
state ranked 50th for high school students on their performance in physics and
calculus. It came in last on the National Assessment of Educational Progress
survey in 2012.
More out-of-school suspensions result in a
school’s lower academic success, Thursday’s report noted. Some Mississippi
schools have out-of-school suspension rates that are more than nine times
higher than the national average.
Judith Browne Dianis, codirector of
Advancement Project and longtime advocate for an end to extreme school
discipline policies, said Thursday in a press release that “Implementing a
graduated approach to discipline, and using non-punitive measures focused on
preventing misbehavior by providing supportive interventions, have been proven
to reduce suspensions and expulsions while creating safe, effective learning
environments for our youth.”
The report cited several examples of unfair
disciplinary measures, including the story of the child with the
"black" shoes. Other incidents include:
• Students on a school bus were throwing
peanuts at one another. Because one of the peanuts hit the female bus driver,
five black male high school students were arrested on felony assault charges.
• A student was sent to a juvenile detention
center for wearing the wrong color socks. It was considered to be a probation
violation from a previous fight.
Kelly Welch, an associate professor in
sociology and criminal justice at Villanova University, said that
zero-tolerance policies are often harsher in schools with large minority
student populations.
“Since we know that the effects of
exclusionary punishments, such as suspension and expulsion, are so detrimental
for student learning as well as future involvement in criminal justice, it is
imperative that these policies be examined to ensure that they are only used
when absolutely necessary and that they are not racially discriminatory,” Welch
said.
