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Moratorium on School Related Arrests 07/16/07 Report on 4Q 2006-7 School-Related Charges in Pinellas County, Florida Public Schools
07/16/07 Email from PCJJC: 4Q 2006-7 report to Superintendent Wilcox and Members of School Board 04/07/06 Email from PCJJC to Wilcox (Superintendent Pinellas County Public Schools) 03/27/06 Email from PCJJC to Wilcox 02/21/06 Email from PCJJC to Wilcox 01/31/06 Email from PCJJC to Wilcox 01/30/06 Email from Wilcox to PCJJC 01/30/06 Email from PCJJC to Wilcox 01/19/06 E-mail from PCJJC to Wilcox and the Pinellas County School Board
Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council [e-mail 04/07/06] April 7, 2006 Subject: Moratorium on specific school related charges Clayton Wilcox Clayton, School holidays, like those of March 27 to 31, are one way to halt the dispensing of charges, by law enforcement officers, for the school related misbehaviors of disorderly conduct and disruption of school environment. If you and your principals can find a way to accomplish the same thing when school is in session, it would be a very good thing! Please tell the Council of your progress and especially the schedule for your public workshop. Dave Plyer
Pinellas County Juvenile
Justice Council [e-mail 03/27/06] Subject: Moratorium on specific school related charges Clayton Wilcox Clayton, What progress have you and your principals made in the reduction of the school-related "crimes" of Disorderly Conduct and Disruption of School Environment? Since the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council has received no word from you in nearly two months, we conclude that law enforcement officers continue to levy these charges at the rate of two counts each day school is in session. In other words, since the Council first raised the issue with you and the School Board on January 19, 2006, students have been charged over 90 times for what can arguably be called "childhood misbehaviors". It is important to remember that law enforcement officers have applied over 100 different charges against students in Pinellas County public schools. The list includes battery, assault, strong arm robbery, resisting arrest with violence, and more. However, at this time, the Council is concerned with the two "benign" charges of disorderly contact and disruption of school environment. These actions cause no harm to people or property. They are misbehaviors; childish misbehaviors. Yet these two charges generate over one-third of all counts. There must be better ways to deal with these incidents than the use of law enforcement. If you have implemented new policies, please tell us. If you are still exploring options, representatives from the Council may be of help. At the very least, please notify the Council of the public workshop that you alluded to in your message of January 30, 2006. The Council looks forward to your reply. Dave Plyer
Superintendent of Pinellas
County Schools: Pinellas County School Board Members: Nancy Bostock February 21, 2006 Subject: Moratorium on specific school-related arrests Clayton On January 30, 2006 you responded to the Pinellas Council Juvenile Justice Council's appeal for a moratorium on school-related arrests for "Disorderly Conduct" and "Disruption of School Environment". You said, "I believe the Board is also looking forward to an opportunity to review our efforts and offer some suggestions as well. That conversation will likely take place at an upcoming workshop, although I do not have a firm date for the conversation." Please tell the Council the day, date, time and place of the workshop. Members of the Council wish to attend. We trust that you and the Board share the Council's sense of urgency. Unless something has changed that we are not aware of, the Council estimates that 48 counts of these "childhood misbehaviors" have been levied against children in your schools—and ours—since the Council first contacted you about this issue on January 19, 2006. Dave Plyer
Date: Jan 31, 2006 8:49 AM [e-mail] Subject: Re: PCJJC: Moratorium on school-related charges - Follow up to PCSB meeting 1/26/06 To: Wilcox Clayton <WILCOXC@pcsb.org> Cc: Cook Carol < COOKC@pcsb.org>, Gallucci Jane <GALLUCCIJ@pcsb.org>, Clark Janet <CLARKJA@pcsb.org>, Lerner Linda < LernerL@pcsb.org>, Russell Mary L <russellm@pcsb.org>, Brown Mary T - School Board <BROWNMARYL@pcsb.org>, Bostock Nancy < BostockN@pcsb.org>, Zambito Nancy <ZAMBITON@pcsb.org>, Bessette Michael <BESSETTEM@pcsb.org > It appears that you are, indeed, taking positive steps to reduce the traffic of Pinellas County's public school children down that schoolhouse to jailhouse track. Is a moratorium on 'Disorderly Conduct' and 'Disruption of School Environment' among your options? Please let me know when a workshop is scheduled. The Council looks forward to updates on your progress. Dave Plyer
On 1/30/06, Wilcox Clayton <WILCOXC@pcsb.org> wrote: We continue to work with our principals on the appropriate use of outside agencies in school matters, we are meeting with members of the local bench and with members of the law enforcement community. We are setting up teen courts to serve as an alternative to involvement with the legal system and we will begin to have discussions with students at the middle and high school level about our expectations for appropriate behavior and the consequences for not meeting those expectations on our campuses. In addition we have talked with the sherriff's department about a "menu" of services which could be applied to school based cases - which would in fact further limit the number of arrests taking place on our campuses. I believe the Board is also looking forward to an opportunity to review our efforts and offer some suggestions as well. That conversation will likely take place at an upcoming workshop, although I do not have a firm date for the conversation. Clayton
January 30, 2006
Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools: Clayton Wilcox
Pinellas County School Board Members: Nancy Bostock Mary Brown Janet Clark Carol Cook Jane Gallucci Linda Lerner Mary Russell
At the meeting of the Pinellas County School Board on January 24, 2006, I reminded the Board and the Superintendent of the appeal that the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council made to you for a moratorium on two school-related charges: "Disorderly Conduct" and "Disruption of School Environment". A copy of that January 19, 2006 appeal is at the end of this message.
I stated that, on average, law enforcement officers levy these charges on Pinellas County's school children two times each school day. I explained that the use of law enforcement to resolve issues of "childhood misbehaviors" moves the student down a track from the schoolhouse to Florida's juvenile justice system.
At the end of my remarks, Mrs. Learner mentioned that you "put this as a priority." She added that Judge Gross has convened a committee that includes Dr. Wilcox, Sherriff Coats and others to look at this issue. Mrs. Learner ended with the encouraging statement that you are "definitely taking steps in a direction that I think you are looking for...Things are happening."
Each school day two more counts of charges for "childhood misbehavior" are levied by law enforcement officers on Pinellas County's public school children. Those charges have been applied 12 more times since the Council's appeal to you on January 19, 2006.
Please, tell the Council what steps are being taken and what things are happening.
Dave Plyer Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council
January 19, 2006
Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools: Clayton Wilcox
Pinellas County School Board Members: Nancy Bostock Mary Brown Janet Clark Carol Cook Jane Gallucci Linda Lerner Mary Russell
The Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council appeals to you, the leaders of Pinellas County's public school system, for a moratorium on school-related charges for these "childhood misbehaviors": Disorderly Conduct and Disruption of School Environment.
Statistics from the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center (PJAC) show that law enforcement levied these two charges against Pinellas County Public School children 405 times for school-related incidents in calendar year 2004. In 2005, the count was 353. A goal of the Council is to "reduce the counts per school child by at least 50% by December 2007" ( Three Year Strategic Plan: A Balanced Approach to Juvenile Justice Prevention and Early Intervention ). This moratorium can help achieve that goal.
The Council's position is reinforced by a nationwide study conducted by the Advancement Project. Its March 2005 report Education on Lockdown: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track includes these "initial solutions":
The Council invites your prompt reply to its plea with either your tentative plan to implement this moratorium or your explanation of why it can not be done. Our urgency is understandable; on average, each day Pinellas County public schools are in session, two charges are imposed on school children for acting like children.
Dave Plyer Chair, Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council
10/24/06 Presentation: PCJJC to the Pinellas County School Board
10/24/06 Presentation: Cathy Corry
to the Pinellas County School Board 04/18/06 Presentation:: PCJJC to the Pinellas County School Board 01/24/06 Presentation: PCJJC to the Pinellas County School Board
Appeal for a Moratorium on School-Related Arrests Pinellas County School Board Presented by I am Dave Plyer. I represent the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council. Florida law (FS 985.4135) sanctions the Council to provide advice and direction to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The Council also works with the Community to find ways to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system. In that spirit, we are here to encourage you to help youth stay out of the system. To do this, we appeal to you for a moratorium on school-related arrests for “Disorderly Conduct” and Disruption of School Environment”. The first stop for many youth on the “Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track” is the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center. According to Center statistics, last year there were 1,123 school-related arrests for 81 unique charges from “Activating a Fire Extinguisher” to “Worthless Check [over]$50”. However, strip away the 8 different charges of battery, 5 types of weapons charges; 21 varieties of drug charges; 22 assorted theft charges and others including “Assault”, “Trespassing” and “Resisting Arrest”, and just two remain; “Disorderly Conduct” and “Disruption of School Environment”. These two charges accounted for 31% of school-related arrests in 2005. These charges do not involve harm to people or property. These are arrests of children for misbehaving. [Click here to see chart] In addition to the upheaval of the arrest, there are the complexities of a system of juvenile justice that make it difficult for youth to get out from under its weight. For example, there are mandatory court appearances to learn the date of the next court appearance. Youth who fail to appear are subject to a pick up order. Then, there is the myth that juvenile arrest records are confidential or that they disappear once youth reach a magic age. Arrest records may vanish from some files, but they exist forever in the memory of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. An employer, landlord, college, anyone, for that matter, can go to the FDLE website (fdle.state.fl.us) and read the record of any person arrested in Florida, regardless of age. Others, here, will strengthen this appeal for a moratorium on school-related arrests for “childhood misbehaviors”. For now, I close my remarks with the belief that there is be a better way for the professionals in our schools to deal with misbehaving students than to have them arrested. A solution is out there and we need to find it now, not next year or the next. Thank you.
Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council Remarks before the Pinellas County School Board on April 18, 2006
I am Dave Plyer. I represent the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council. The Council is sanctioned by Florida Statute [985.4135] to serve the community by providing advice and direction to the Department of Juvenile Justice and to develop a juvenile justice prevention and early intervention plan. One of the goals of the Council’s plan is to reduce school-related arrests of children. In support of that goal, the Council recommends a moratorium on two specific charges: disorderly conduct and disruption of school environment. These are arrests for misbehaviors. They are not arrests for weapons or drugs or theft or battery or assault. We first brought our recommendation to your attention on January 19, 2006, when the Council appealed for a moratorium on these charges and asked for “your prompt reply…with…your tentative plan to implement this moratorium or your explanation of why it can not be done.” The Council reaffirmed its appeal in brief remarks during the School Board meeting of January 24. We concluded with an invitation for your prompt reply. We followed up on January 30, at which time Superintendent Wilcox answered: “We continue to work with our principals on the appropriate use of outside agencies in school matters, we are meeting with members of the local bench and with members of the law enforcement community…we have talked with the sherriff's department about a "menu" of services which could be applied to school based cases - which would in fact further limit the number of arrests taking place on our campuses… I believe the Board is also looking forward to an opportunity to review our efforts and offer some suggestions as well. That conversation will likely take place at an upcoming workshop, although I do not have a firm date…” The following day, the Council asked to be notified when a workshop is scheduled and that the Council looks forward to updates on your progress. That was two-and-a-half months ago. Since then we have heard nothing despite repeated e-mails to you. The issue of school-related charges for “childhood misbehaviors” is still with us. I close my remarks and ask again, when is the workshop scheduled to review your efforts to limit the number of arrests taking place on our campuses? Thank you.
Presentation to Pinellas County School Board I am Dave Plyer. I represent the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council. The Council, open to the public, is sanctioned by Florida Statute [ 985.4135] to advise and direct Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice. What does this have to do with Pinellas County's public school system? Well, hundreds of times each year, officers of the law levy school-related charges for Disruption of School Environment and Disorderly Conduct on Pinellas County's public school children. These charges represent petty, non-violent "childhood misbehavior". In 2004, the charges were levied 405 times against kids in Pinellas County's public schools. Last year the count was 353. That's about two counts for each day school is in session. These numbers were provided by the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center or PJAC. PJAC is a gateway to Florida's juvenile justice system and these numbers represent kids headed from school into the unknown. Once in the juvenile justice system, children may find themselves mired for days, weeks, months and even years in one of Florida's many state-sponsored facilities. In these facilities, youth can expect to be battered physically and emotionally. And, in places like Bay County Sheriff's Office Boot Camp, and juvenile detention centers such as Cypress Creek, Miami-Dade, Pinellas, and Volusia, children die. Children: Martin Anderson, Willie Durden, Omar Paisley, Danny Matthews, Shawn Smith. The oldest was 17 the youngest 13. The Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council believes that the school board and the superintendent can curb this flow into despair by putting a moratorium on charges for two petty, non-violent offences: Disorderly Conduct and Disruption of School environment. We do not ask you to ignore these "childhood misbehaviors" but to deal with them without using law enforcement officers. On January 19th, this Council sent you a message appealing for your plan for such a moratorium. If history can predict the future then kids in our schools have been charged 8 more times since you received the message. And there will be two more tomorrow and tomorrow... because children often behave like children. The Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council awaits your reply. Thank you.
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