First Local Report on School Arrests Shows How Kids Get Pushed Into Pipeline

Subjected to both harsh zero tolerance policies and an increasing police presence on campuses, public school students in Michigan are being suspended, expelled and arrested at an alarming rate for even the most minor infractions, according to a report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

In its latest report, For Naught: How Zero Tolerance Policy and School Police Practices Imperil Our Students’ Future, the ACLU of Michigan points out how misguided policies and practices intended to improve school safety are pushing more students out of the public education system while doing little to bolster security.

► READ THE FULL REPORT

“The conclusion from the report couldn’t be clearer,” warned ACLU of Michigan field director Rodd Monts, who oversaw production of the report. “We are sacrificing a staggering number of our students to heavy-handed, wrong-headed policies that, while well-intended, offer nothing except the illusion of improved safety. We need policies that foster a safer school climate without excessively punishing our children, compromising their opportunities to learn or needlessly forcing them into the school-to-prison pipeline.”