Fw: [Dignity_in_Schools] Police in LA Schools, Updates on Resolution, NC Amicus Brief

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Dignity in Schools Campaign Listserv

In This Issue

DSC-LA Report on Police in Schools

Amicus Brief on NC School Discipline Case

DSC National Resolution Updates - Radio, Blogs, Next Steps

Web Resources - Advancement Project Report on Testing and Pushout

About the DSC

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January 2010

Dear Friends,Last month, the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC) released its National Resolution for Ending School Pushout, with resounding success. With your support, we obtained more than 200 signatures representing 43 states across the country. Thank you all for your energy and commitment! In the weeks since the release, the Resolution has been shared with local school boards and state and federal policy-makers, and has received media attention through blogs, radio programs, and video. Read more below about the release and how you can get involved to help gather more signatures and plan a Day of Action later this year.

News: DSC-Los Angeles Chapter Releases Report

Report on Police in Los Angeles Schools

The Community Rights Campaign in collaboration with the Los Angeles Chapter of the Dignity in Schools Campaign has released a policy paper: Police in LAUSD Schools: The Need for Accountability and Alternatives.

With 340 sworn officers and 147 School Safety Officers, the LASPD is the largest school police department in the country. Given that 91% of LAUSD students are students of color - it is inevitable that the brunt of any potential misconduct or abuse by LASPD officers is shouldered by students of color. As the LAUSD Board prepares to select a new Chief of Police for LASPD, the Community Rights Campaign and Dignity in Schools Campaign urge the LAUSD Board to create new mechanisms and policies that hold the LASPD accountable to the civil/human rights of all LAUSD students-most specifically by creating new LAUSD policies to restrict the role and use of force of LASPD inside our schools and an independent civilian review board to bring greater accountability.

Access articles and radio programs featuring the Community Rights Campaign and DSC Los Angeles Chapter:

Jan 26 - Activists call for reform of LA School Police Department, Southern California Public Radio, KPCC

Dec 13 - LA Youth March for Respect, LA Progressive

Dec 1 - Creating Dignity in Schools, Voices from the Frontlines Radio, KPFK

Updates: Alternatives to Zero-Tolerance WG

DSC Supports National Amicus Brief in North Carolina School Discipline Case

On December 23, a number of DSC members and allies joined a national amicus brief on the harms of exclusionary discipline filed in the North Carolina Supreme Court. The Court is reviewing a pair of cases on school discipline in which two students were suspended, without services, for the remainder of the school year after a run-of-the-mill schoolyard fight. Advocates for Children's Services and others in North Carolina are arguing that the state's constitutional right to education - strengthened by the Court's recent decisions in educational adequacy cases - makes it all but impossible for the schools to suspend students long-term without

services for such incidents. As almost all states are/have been engaged in school-funding cases, the NC Supreme Court's decision will have national ramifications for advocacy on school pushout. The Advancement Project, the Hamilton Houston Institute, and Skiba from Indiana University joined local counsel at the UNC Center for Civil Rights to draft the amicus brief on the harms of exclusionary discipline. Pitts of Advocates for Children's Services and Jim Freeman of the Advancement Project spoke about these cases and the amicus on a recent DSC Alternatives to Zero-Tolerance Working Group call. Their brief is powerful and can truly help all of our work as well as the children in North Carolina. It is available on the Dignity in Schools website here. DSC will announce updates on the case as we receive them.

Updates: DSC National Resolution

On December 3, 2009 the DSC released its National Resolution for Ending School Pushout, a call to action for our school systems to create positive climates for learning and adopt approaches to discipline that protect the human rights of all young people.Listen and read about the Resolution release

Jan 20 - Listen to Pushout, An Evening With on KCBX, Hosted by Guy Rathbun, with DSC members in New York and Los

AngelesDec 10 - Listen to FSRN Interview with DSC on Human Rights DayDec 10 - Read The School-to-Prison Pipeline on CommonDreams.org by C. KohlerDec 5 - Read Classroom as Hostile Territory: Stopping School Pushout on Race Wire by ChenDec 4 - Read Keep Pennsylvania Kids in School by Harold Jordan, ACLU of Pennsylvania, on Daily Kos and Common DreamsHelp gather more signatures for the ResolutionThe Resolution is a living document that will remain an important vehicle for galvanizing advocates, parents, youth, and educators across the country. Please continue to share the Resolution with your colleagues and partner organizations. In addition, we hope to obtain signatures from all 50 states. Here are the states where we still lack signatories: Alaska, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont. Email resolution@... to sign-on.Stay tuned to help plan a National Day of ActionOf course, the Resolution was just the beginning! In 2010, we will continue to

challenge ineffective and harmful discipline policies through a coordinated National Day of Action. Over the next few months, we will be forming an advisory committee to develop a goal and vision for our advocacy in 2010. In February, we will be asking for your feedback to inform the planning process. So stay tuned as we use what we gained from the release of the Resolution to make an even greater impact across the nation. For more information, contact Lambertson at resolution@....

New Resources from Around the Web

Advancement Project Report on Pushout and Testing

"Test, Punish, and Push Out" provides an overview of zero-tolerance school discipline and high-stakes testing, how they relate to each other, how laws and policies such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have made school discipline even more punitive, and the risk faced if these devastating policies are not reformed.A New Start for Disconnected Youth in NYCThe Children's Aid Society of New York is successfully employing restorative practices in its work with youth in several of the city's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

About the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC)

The Dignity in Schools Campaign is a national coalition of advocates, community-based organizations, educators, lawyers and policymakers working together to seek human rights-based solutions to the systemic problem of pushout in U.S. schools. Visit the website to learn about membership and get involved in the campaign. The DSC has a Core Group that oversees the project, Working Group Members that help shape our work

and participate in our ongoing projects, and Allied Organizations that believe in and support the campaign.Core Group Members:

Biehl, Ohio Poverty Law Center

Cregor, Southern Poverty Law Center

Hirji, Children's Rights Litigation Committee, American Bar Association

Lambertson, Advocate, Colorado

Llorente, Advocate, Chicago, IL

Liz Sullivan, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative

Lori , ACLU of Illinois

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