To: Superintendent and Board of the Alton, Illinois School District
End Zero Tolerance Policies
Zero tolerance discipline policies aren't helping the children who need intervention the most at all. Instead, they are excluding thousands of students from school every year—including many students who most need to be in class—and making those children even more likely to end up trapped in the destructive, expensive prison pipeline. These kinds of policies deserve a failing grade and correction.
Why is this important?
On March 5, 2013, police in Alton, Illinois reportedly handcuffed the hands and feet of 8-year-old Jmyha Rickman for throwing a tantrum in her elementary school class. Jmyha spent two hours in the police station, where her guardian said police ignored the girl’s requests to use the bathroom. Sadly, Jmyha wasn't the first child to receive such treatment; we must demand that she is the last. Read the full article: http://bit.ly/13GjI7F .
We are criminalizing children at ever younger ages, pushing them out of school, and fueling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline ( http://bit.ly/cfwba2 ) crisis. We must stop abusive zero tolerance discipline policies that lead to tens of thousands of unnecessary suspensions and expulsions across America. We must treat all our children with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
Please sign this petition to the Superintendent and Board of the Alton, Illinois School District to demand that elementary school children not be handcuffed and criminalized any longer.
We are criminalizing children at ever younger ages, pushing them out of school, and fueling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline ( http://bit.ly/cfwba2 ) crisis. We must stop abusive zero tolerance discipline policies that lead to tens of thousands of unnecessary suspensions and expulsions across America. We must treat all our children with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
Please sign this petition to the Superintendent and Board of the Alton, Illinois School District to demand that elementary school children not be handcuffed and criminalized any longer.