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Ending the School to Jail Track
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The school-to-jail track is the result of harsh disciplinary practices that over uses suspensions, expulsions and police tickets. Of major concern are the racial disparities in discipline that demonstrate how low-income students of color are being targeted, pushed out of school and into the juvenile justice system. This is on top of the already existing academic achievement gaps and low standards that prevent low-income students of color from receiving a high-quality education that allows them to be successful in high school and beyond and realize meaningful careers – we cannot let these barriers stand in the way of their overall success and the advancement of entire communities!
After a six-year collaborative campaign, in August 2008, Padres & Jóvenes Unidos organized for and won new discipline policies for Denver Public Schools (DPS) that changed the harsh zero tolerance practices that push low-income students of color out of school and into the juvenile justice system. This was a big step in the right direction for the District and a critical component of our overall education reform work.
The new DPS discipline policies:
- End the school-to-jail track in Denver
- Respect students’ right to a quality education by limiting the use out-of-school suspensions, expulsions and police tickets
- Support Restorative Justice
- Treat all students and parents with dignity and respect
- Increase attendance, graduation and college enrollment rates
Organizing to pass the new discipline policies was just one part of our campaign to end the school to jail track in Denver. We are now in phase II: Holding the District accountable for fully implementing the new polices. Our current work within the phase II of ending the school-to-jail track is led by a Know Your Rights campaign to educated students and school staff and administrators on the new discipline policies that is building a collective youth-led call to DPS to:
- Fully implement the new discipline policies
- Mandate consistency and uniformity from all DPS schools in the reporting of all discipline to ensure accurate data
- Maintain and expand Restorative Justice in DPS
- Issue a report on the District’s progress with clear next steps
To get involved with accountability phase of our Ending the School-to-Jail Track campaign, contact Lalo Montoya at (303) 458-6545 or lalo@padresunidos.org.
