EducationZero tolerancezero tolerance policymississippi-schools

Meridian, Mississippi Sued By Federal Civil Rights Lawyers For Operating 'School-To-Prison' Pipeline

Mississippi Town Sued Over 'School-To-Prison' Pipeline
Open Image Modal

Federal civil rights lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Meridian, Mississippi and other defendants in which they accuse city officials of operating a “school-to-prison pipeline” that jails students days at a time for minor infractions, without a probable cause hearing.

According to the American Bar Association Journal, the policy mainly affects black students and students with disabilities.

This "school to prison pipeline" claim says students are handcuffed and arrested in school and sent to a youth court and denied constitutional rights for minor infractions like talking back to teachers or violating dress codes. The lawsuit states they are then transported more than 80 miles to the Rankin County youth detention center, reports the Associated Press.

Many students end up on probation, without being provided proper legal representation and without determining whether there is probable cause when a school wants to press charges. For those placed on probation, a future school violation could be grounds for a suspension they must serve while incarcerated in the juvenile detention center.

According to the lawsuit, students can be incarcerated for "dress code infractions such as wearing the wrong color socks or undershirt, or for having shirts untucked; tardies; flatulence in class; using vulgar language; yelling at teachers; and going to the bathroom or leaving the classroom without permission."

Defendants named in the suit include the city of Meridian, Lauderdale County, the two Lauderdale County Youth Court judges, the Mississippi Department of Human Services and DHS's Division of Youth Services. The Meridian Public School District is not named as a defendant, but the lawsuit says incarceration is used as a "medium for school discipline,” according to the AP.

CNN reports the lawsuit comes more than two months after the Justice Department informed local and state officials that they had 60 days to cooperate with an investigation or face legal action.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin noted additional unconstitutional actions on the part of the school district and court that included making children wait more than 48 hours for a hearing, and admit to formal charges without first being advised of their Miranda rights.

According to CNN, Austin said Meridian is not the only location in the country operating such a system, but is the only one to date where local authorities have not been fully cooperative with federal investigators.

In March, a survey by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights found that black students are more than three-and-a-half times as likely as white students to be suspended or expelled, and more than 70 percent of students arrested in school or handed over to law enforcement are black or Hispanic.

Many experts have attributed the school-to-prison pipeline to zero-tolerance policies — a holdover from the war on drugs — that punish all major and minor rule infractions equally, bringing police disproportionately into high-minority schools.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

5 Hidden Costs of Public High School
1. Modern school supplies(01 of05)
Open Image Modal
Gone are the days when students were set for school with a three-ring binder and some No. 2 pencils. Now, parents say they're making expensive runs to local craft stores each time a project is assigned and are even furnishing their students with their own laptops. "You have to have a computer, and then you have to have the programs the school runs," says Jodi Drange, a parent from Montana whose daughter goes to Laurel High School. "They never have enough time at school [for assignments] and they won't get their project turned in unless they can work on it at home."If your child needs a laptop, consider a refurbished model that can be significantly less expensive, Florida parent Krause recommends. (credit:AP)
2. Extracurriculars(02 of05)
Open Image Modal
For the Krauses, costs of the fall play, the spring musical, and a trip for a thespian group competition were straining the family's budget. "[My daughter] was talking about also wanting to get into softball, and we were like, 'Well, we don't know if we can afford the equipment if you want to continue to do drama,'" Krause says. "It's getting ridiculous, cost-wise, to continue to fund all these things through the school." Participation in important but increasingly costly after-school programs may necessitate a family conversation, says Carol Ranft, a mother who lives within Georgia's Gwinnett County Public Schools district and who was paying $450 a year for her son to play lacrosse. "I think that's probably one of the bigger questions for parents: As the cost of those kinds of activities increase, are their students willing to put in their time and effort into a cause or an activity?" Ranft asks. "Is it as worthwhile to them for their time as it is for the parents' cost?" (credit:AP)
3. College prep(03 of05)
Open Image Modal
It's important for college-bound high schoolers to be ready for their next step, but taking Advanced Placement tests, which cost $87 each, PSATs ($14), and SATs and ACTs ($49 and at least $34, respectively) can get expensive. [Get tips on college test prep.]"Fifty dollars doesn't seem that bad, but most kids take [the SAT] two or three times before they apply to college, so that can add up," notes Karen Schoonover, chief academic officer and principal of Pennsylvania's New Hope Academy Charter School, where low-income students get test fee waivers. If testing costs will be an issue for you, investigate waiver options with your school's guidance counselor, Schoonover recommends.Schoonover's daughter took college prep further, with subsequent costs. Through a dual enrollment program at West York Area Senior High School, she took college courses for $250 each, amassing 17 credits by graduation--which would have cost about $12,000 to earn at a university, her mother estimates. "It saved me a lot of money in the long run," Schoonover says. "I wasn't really prepared in her junior year to start writing checks for tuition, though." (credit:AP)
4. Transportation(04 of05)
Open Image Modal
Even getting to and from school can get pricey. Confronted with the option to pay $1,500 a year for a school bus to come, the Krause family decided to drive their daughter both ways each day instead--a cost of about $150 a week, Krause estimates. For students who have a bus option but would prefer to transport themselves, there may be an additional cost, too: "If you're a senior and you're looking forward to driving your car and parking at a high school lot, parking fees have gone up," AASA's Domenech notes.
5. Special occasions(05 of05)
Open Image Modal
From senior trips to prom tickets, parents may find themselves opening up their wallets frequently--or facing the crestfallen faces of their teens when they hear the word "no." Even graduating from public high school can be costly once gowns, caps, tassels, and ceremony tickets are purchased. "I know this is all optional, but it's part of the high school experience, and it's all hidden costs," says Yvonne Johnson, a Delaware parent whose daughter goes to the Charter School of Wilmington. "It's not always easy to say no to them, [but my daughter's] going to college, and you've got think about all those expenses." [Find out how to talk to your children about money.] The balance of costs and involvement will differ for each family, as you work as a team to figure out what you can pay for--and what you think you should. For the Montana-based Drange family, for instance, having no money saved for college was "the trade-off," mother Jodi reasons. "My kids are super, super involved in everything--I just think it's part of a well-rounded education, so we pay," Drange says. "We might not to do this or that, you know, 'cause I think the kids comes first in our lives." (credit:AP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip