The School to Prison Pipeline is a vast system of structural inequalities which form a channel that pushes children out of public schools and into the criminal justice system. One common manifestation of the pipeline occurs when certain students’ behaviors are interpreted through a biased lens, and they are punished harsher than their peers.
The ACLU of Missouri started a School to Prison Pipeline Project called Pause Against Unjust Suspensions and Expulsions (P.A.U.S.E) starting at the Hayti School District in Pemiscot County. The focus of the project is to immediately change discipline policy in the Hayti School District, which has high levels of disparity, end corporal punishment, and increase voter knowledge, registration, and turnout to ensure representation reflects the community. Long-term goals include reduction of discipline disparity among students of color and students with disabilities, improve educational outcomes for students who remain in school, and increase attendance, grades, graduation rates. Follow our dedicated Hayti P.A.U.S.E page to follow along with the work that has been done including voter registration drives, Know Your Rights events, and more.
Get Involved
Do you have lived-experiences with school-based suspensions, expulsions, or corporal punishment? If you are interested in sharing, please send an email to Sydney Smith at SSmith@aclu-mo.org.