Armed police patrol Texas public schools arresting kids for crimes such as dress code violations and tardiness. Kids as young as 6 have arrest records in Texas schools for crimes ranging from throwing paper airplanes to spraying perfume in class. Each day hundreds of kids appear in court for their crimes in school. Other states have also criminalized normal childhood behavior. In California a kid got arrested for dropping cake in the cafeteria and not picking up all the crumbs.
Texas schools have found the solution to the problems caused by kids struggling with disabilities. Arrest them. A 12 year old girl with ADHD & bipolar diagnoses finds a non-violent way to fight back against bullies. Arrest her.
"I'm weird. Other kids don't like me," said Sarah, who has been diagnosed with attention-deficit and bipolar disorders and who is conscious of being overweight. "They were saying a lot of rude things to me. Just picking on me. So I sprayed myself with perfume. Then they said: 'Put that away, that's the most terrible smell I've ever smelled.' Then the teacher called the police."
Charges against Sarah were dropped after disabilities rights lawyers fought for months on her behalf, but others were not so lucky.
Many of those who appear in front of (Judge) Meurer have learning problems. Children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of police in schools. Simpkins describes the case of a boy with attention deficit disorder who as a 12-year-old tipped a desk over in class in a rage. He was charged with threatening behaviour and sent to a juvenile prison where he was required to earn his release by meeting certain educational and behavioural standards.
"But he can't," she said. "Because of that he is turning 18 within the juvenile justice system for something that happened when he was 12. It's a real trap. A lot of these kids do have disabilities and that's how they end up there and can't get out. Instead of dealing with it within school system like we used to, we have these school police, they come in and it escalates from there."
Sometimes that escalation involves force. "We had one young man with an IQ well below 70 who was pepper-sprayed in the hallway because he didn't understand what the police were saying," said Simpkins. "After they pepper-sprayed him he started swinging his arms around in pain and he hit one of the police officers – it's on video, his eyes were shut – and they charged him with assault of a public servant. He was 16. He was charged with two counts of assault of a public servant and he is still awaiting trial. He could end up in prison."
Normal childhood behavior has also been criminalized. Loud talk gets a ticket. Food fighters get pepper sprayed. It's seasoning, right? Tussling in the playground gets a ticket. Talk back to a cop? He pulls out his gun. Kids face fines of up to $500 dollars and get a criminal record that can keep them from getting a job or getting into college.
But, no problem. Texas has thousands of private prison beds awaiting them when they can't get a job and follow the path they are being trained for...
From the report's overview. There is a racial component to the situation in Texas Schools.
The CSG Justice Center, in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University, has released an unprecedented statewide study of nearly 1 million Texas public secondary school students, followed for at least six years. Among its startling findings are that the majority of students were suspended or expelled between seventh to twelfth grade.
Funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Foundations, this study also found that when students are suspended or expelled, the likelihood that they will repeat a grade, not graduate, and/or become involved in the juvenile justice system increases significantly. African-American students and children with particular educational disabilities who qualify for special education were suspended and expelled at especially high rates.
