Report: Miss. school discipline too hard on kids
By Holbrook Mohra
Civil rights advocates say Mississippi schools are too quick to lock up or expel students, especially minorities, for even minor infractions.
JACKSON, Miss. — Civil rights advocates say harsh discipline at many Mississippi schools leads to children being expelled and even incarcerated for minor infractions.
The groups say in a joint report that those policies disproportionally affect minorities.
The report says the problems are more widespread than just in the city of Meridian, where the U.S. Justice Department has filed a suit claiming officials are running a "school-to-prison pipeline" for minor infractions.
The groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, plan to discuss their report at a news conference Thursday.
The report says many schools in Mississippi use zero-tolerance policies to lock up students or expel them for relatively minor infractions.
The defendants in the Meridian lawsuit deny the Justice Department's allegations.
