PRESS RELEASE: 2016 National Week of Action Against School Pushout is October 15 to October 23 (10/14/16)

For the third year, the ACLU of Utah is joining with local allies to challenge Utah’s school-to-prison pipeline with a week of action culminating in a public event, “Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out SLC!” joined by students, educators, advocates, and parents.

The Week of Action Against School Pushout, led by Dignity in Schools, seeks to engage the community in conversation around the imbalance between growing investment in juvenile justice and the diminishing funding for public education.

Specifically, we, with our partners Salt Lake Peer Court, Racially Just Utah, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, PPAU Teen Council, and Spy Hop, are calling on the state, districts and schools to:

• Shift funding from school police to counselors and positive discipline.
• Use positive interventions instead of suspensions, expulsions or arrests.
• Fully implement positive alternatives such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Restorative Practices.
• End racial disparities in discipline.
• Engage students and parents in decision-making about discipline policies.

As a result of an increase in public awareness and concern about these issues, we have seen some improvement in the educational landscape with groundbreaking legalization passed this year. Still, there is so much more to do.

Join us by taking action through your social networks and engaging your community in these discussions. And, if you live near Salt Lake City and want to become more involved, we will be holding a series of free public events including a film screening at the Marmalade Library on 10/18; a panel discussion at the S.J. Quinney College of Law on 10/20; and “Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out SLC!” at the Law and Justice Center on 10/26. 

• School-toPrison Pipeline panel discussion at the S.J. Quinney College of Law on Thursday, October 20 at 12:00 p.m.
• “Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out SLC!” An evening of discussion, interactive activities and an art walk at the Law and Justice Center on Wednesday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m.

Find out more about how you can participate from the Salt Lake Peer Court action page!

P.S. Check out our $1,500 Youth Activist Scholarship program to honor two Utah high school seniors who have taken a stand for civil liberties (Application deadline is January 23, 2017), and our complete set of resources on the rights of Utah students.