Feds sue Mississippi town for alleged 'school-to-prison' pipeline

Today’s SMH news comes from Meridian, Miss., where the federal government is accusing the city of being part of a countywide "school-to-prison pipeline," in which members of the largely black student population were routinely denied their basic constitutional rights by being sent to court and incarcerated for minor infractions in school. Like violating the dress code or talking back to the teacher. The suit alleges that the city — along with Lauderdale County, county youth court judges and the state Division of Youth Services — regularly handcuffed, arrested and jailed students without a hearing. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit two months after warning state and local officials that a lawsuit would be filed if they didn’t cooperate within 60 days. [Source]

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