Prior to my work at the ACLU of MAINE, I served as an administrator and sometimes disciplinarian at a public school on the south side of Indianapolis, where I acquired some funny stories such as the day the kindergarteners invented a game involving overturned chairs as vehicles, and some not so funny stories of the challenges of meeting the needs of impoverished, mentally ill students of color. Having worked directly with this population, often as the first response in moments of crisis, I know that this in no way meets the needs of mentally ill students. Funneling mentally ill students or students of color into the juvenile justice system is a deplorable injustice to one of our most vulnerable populations. Read about the ACLU’s ongoing work on the school-to-prison pipeline across the country.
