Today, school disciplinary policies too often push youth from their schools into the legal system. Instead of handling relatively minor incidents such as school fighting and disruptive behavior through traditional discipline methods like after-school detention and extra assignments, schools rely on the juvenile justice system. JLC works with others to reverse the current trend. Except in cases where there is no alternative, school related discipline issues should be handled in the educational system using fair procedures. If young people do end up in the juvenile justice system their continued access to education must be assured. Our goal is to change policy and practice by reserving disciplinary removals for only the most serious and severe disruptive behaviors; and, replacing one-size-fits-all discipline strategies with graduated systems of discipline, wherein the consequences are geared to the seriousness of the infraction and the blameworthiness of the offender.

• Sponsoring a website, schooltoprison.org, to assist advocates for children and youth subject to school disciplinary issues
• Advancing policies and practices for all branches of state and local government to improve disciplinary procedures system wide, and ensure educational access for youth in the juvenile justice system
• Conducting workshops to inform advocates for developmentally disabled and special education students about strategies for preventing school-based referrals to law enforcement for conduct related to their disabilities
• Training defense attorneys about strategies for representing developmentally disabled youth involved in juvenile delinquency proceedings as a result of school-related offenses
• Ensuring that youth in detention have access to education and that those who complete detention are allowed to resume their education and reintegrate into their school communities