Schools First
One of the strengths of our young people, families and communities is their belief and investment in public education as the best tool to create life opportunities. For decades, New Orleans Public Schools’ discipline policies pushed children out of school increasing students’ chances of involvement in the juvenile justice system. In addition, students have been and continue to be removed from educational environments through school-arrests for minor offenses and discouraged from attendance by intimidating police practices on campus.
Research shows that these policies and practices: 1) do not improve student behavior; 2) exclude students from educational opportunities and; 3) increase the young person’s likelihood of involvement in the juvenile or criminal justice systems. This phenomenon is known as the “school-to-prison pipeline.”
In our effort to transform the juvenile justice system, JJPL decided to address the public education system and its policies and practices that funnel children into the juvenile justice system. The Schools First Project of JJPL was initiated in the summer of 2006 to stop the school-to-prison pipeline in New Orleans.
Schools First envisions public schools in New Orleans that service and support all students; utilize effective school-based interventions to help students with challenging behaviors; protect the rights of all students, including the unique rights of students with special learning needs; maintain a wide range of services to invest in the strengths of all our children; and ultimately stop the school-to-prison pipeline.
Our Mission:
The mission of Schools First is to reduce the number of suspensions, expulsions, push-outs and arrests in schools and to ensure a seamless educational transition between secure care and schools for young people involved in the juvenile justice system.
What We Do:
- Provide training on the school-to-prison pipeline and effective school discipline
- Research best practices through examining other jurisdictions tackling similar issues.
- Monitor suspension, expulsion, and school arrest data as well as discipline and school law enforcement policies and procedures in all school systems in New Orleans.
- Monitor the implementation of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) “Model Master Plan for improving behavior and discipline within schools” as mandated by the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2003.
- Provide direct advocacy for students who are involved in or at-risk of being funneled into the juvenile justice system from the school system.
To learn more about the accomplishments of the Schools First project since its founding, click HERE.