More than 450 people attended the “Detroit YOUTH Takeover” on March 23, a march and rally to support policies that reduce out-of-school suspensions and increase state funding for restorative practices in schools.
The Detroit YOUTH Takeover successfully launched the newest issue campaign of YOUTH VOICE, an affiliate of the Harriet Taubman Center that organizes Detroit youth who build their own power to create change, to break the “School to Prison Pipeline,” the name given to the systemic lack of options for urban youth that funnels students directly from the school system to the juvenile and criminal justice system.
YOUTH VOICE is collaborating with the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Wayne State School of Law National Lawyers Guild and ALCU of Michigan Detroit Metro Branch to host “The School to Prison Pipeline: A Spectrum of Perspectives on Student Rights.” The panel discussion will be on Friday April 5 at 5 p.m. at University of Detroit Mercy’s School of Law, room 226. The event is free and open to the public. Light dinner will be provided.
The panel will include student members of YOUTH VOICE, Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights Peter Hammer, Director of the Youth Justice Clinic at the U of D Mercy School Sarah Forman, ACLU Field Director Rodd Monts and others to be announced. By convening a panel with diverse backgrounds, the group is going to create a workable agenda for breaking the school to prison pipeline.
YOUTH VOICE is also meeting with Maura Corrigan, Director of Michigan Department of Human Services, in seeking Juvenile Justice Center funding for restorative practices in DPS, EAA and charter schools. The funding would allow for many tools to be put in place that reduce suspensions: restorative circles (discussion and problem solving groups), in school suspensions (that allow students to continue with classwork) and therapist referral (for students dealing with mental health, family or personal issues).
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