The ACLU-DE is working to end the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Delaware and we need your support!
Delaware Department of Education data shows that students are being suspended at an excessive rate due in part to “zero tolerance” policies that pushes students out of school for minor infractions like using a cell phone, uniform violations or talking back to teachers as defined broadly under “disrupting the educational process.” More alarming, 75% of all Delaware public school students suspended are boys. In some Delaware districts, black and Latino students are suspended 3-4 times more than their white peers, even when they represent a substantially lower enrollment rate overall. Extended absences causes students to fall behind (many already struggling academically) and unfortunately too many students never catch-up, leading to a series of issues that negatively impact their lives and our community.
We are seeking to develop a broad coalition of supporters (including community advocates, policy-makers, parent leaders, teachers and students) working together to eliminate the use of zero tolerance policies and end discriminatory practices by proposing the implementation of restorative approaches and establishing an oversight committee to monitor progress at the district and state level.
If you’re interested in lending your support to this effort, please plan to attend ONE of the following coalition meetings to determine a path forward.
Thursday, January 16th 1:00pm – 3:00pm Community Service Building, 100 W. 10th Street, Wilmington Conference Room 6 (Street Level) (lunch provided)
OR
Thursday, January 23rd 5:30pm – 7:30pm Community Service Building, 100 W. 10th Street, Wilmington Conference Room 6 (Street Level) (dinner provided)
R.S.V.P by January 10th to Shannon Griffin at sgriffin@aclu-de.org or phone at 302-654-5326 ext. 104.
