"The 'school-to-prison pipeline' refers to the policies and practices that push our nation's schoolchildren, especially our most at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This pipeline reflects the prioritization of incarceration over education." - American Civil Liberties Union

The School-to-Prison Pipeline includes:

1. Inadequate resources in public schools (overcrowded classrooms, insufficient funding for counselors and special education services, etc.)

2. Zero-tolerance policies (expulsion and out-of-school suspension)

3. Increased reliance on police for disciplinary action rather than teachers and administrators

4. Disciplinary alternative schools

5. Barriers for kids with special needs and kids who have been through the juvenile detention system

We want to end the school-to-prison pipeline by urging legislators to:

• Ban the use of out-of-school suspension for minor violations and infractions including minor behavioral violations and defiance/ noncompliance;
• Ban the use of out-of-school suspension and expulsion for ALL behavioral incidents involving our youngest and most vulnerable students in preschool and elementary schools;
• Enact legislation mandating the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommended ratio of students to school psychologists be capped at 500-700 students for every one school psychologist.
• Enact legislation mandating that at least six of all continuing education credits teachers and other school professionals receive each year be devoted to ongoing professional development and training specific to behavioral interventions and classroom management; and
• Enact legislation to require all School Resource Officers (SROs) be trained in differentiating criminal misconduct from misbehavior as well as a broader understanding of adolescent development and crisis management.