In April 2012, a kindergarten girl was arrested, handcuffed and held in jail for throwing a tantrum at school. This incident would be traumatic for anyone, but particularly for a child this young. Certainly the long term consequences and stigma related to the incident will haunt her for years. Discipline that is out of alignment with successful education is frustrating to everyone involved – the student, her parents, teachers and administrators.

We like to think our children would never make a mistake that could lead to such a dire consequence, but this girl’s story is an all too common example of the unintended consequences of zero tolerance policies and inflexible disciplinary systems.

Gwinnett Parent Coalition to Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline (Gwinnett SToPP) came together in 2007 simply because a few concerned parents saw the need to empower parents and students facing disciplinary action. We believed that out of school suspension – particularly for nonviolent discipline cases –   directed students down a path that would radically alter their chance of success and we knew there had to be a better way. All children make mistakes and all children deserve compassion. We were not alone. Many of you came to us looking for answers and wanting to make a difference.  Together, the kernel of an idea has led to a grassroots movement here in Gwinnett County.

Six years later, Gwinnett SToPP is pleased to announce that our grant has been renewed by the Just and Fair Schools Fund (JFSF) for two more years.  JFSF supports grassroots organizing initiatives that work to eliminate harsh school discipline policies and practices and that uphold the right to education for all youth.

With this funding, we will be able to continue advocating for the rights of students in Gwinnett County through our three-pronged approach of equipping parent leaders, raising community awareness and working with the district to shape disciplinary policy in a way that is fair and leads to positive outcomes for students and faculty.

For example, after holding a series of meetings around the community on using alternative forms of discipline that helps to increase student achievement, we convened a meeting in January to shift school discipline from a punitive system for addressing student misconduct to a restorative one based on interventions to better support students and teachers. The meeting included parents from Gwinnett SToPP, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), Gwinnett County Juvenile Court, Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Georgia Gwinnett College, Rho Kappa Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, NAACP Gwinnett County Branch, Interfaith Children’s Movement, and Parent to Parent of Georgia with Judge Teske serving as our facilitator. We are so pleased to share that GCPS announced that they want to work with us on crafting a protocol to help reduce school‐based arrests and exploring restorative practices!

We are grateful to everyone who shares our passion and stepped up to take a leadership role in their community and excited about the prospect of continuing this work with a new Parent Leadership Institute (PLI) class in the fall. As we continue to get the support of great organizations like JFSF we will continue to spread the word and equip more and more parents to become community leaders for the sake of their children’s education.