A group of us created the Austin Lawyers Guild's "School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP) Pro Bono Referral Program" just over a year ago. The program connects students sent to court for school-discipline issues with attorneys who volunteer to represent them.
The underlying issue is the criminalization of school discipline. For over a decade, schools have been sending more and more students to court for discipline issues that once would have meant a trip to the principal's office. Last year in Texas, school police wrote students more than 300,000 non-traffic tickets. Convictions from these tickets cannot be expunged, and they saddle students with permanent criminal records¸ sabotaging their futures.
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| From Left: Lisa Tatum, State Bar President. Justice Nathan Hecht, Texas Supreme Court. Brian McGiverin. |
On July 27, 2013 at the annual Bar Leaders Conference, the State Bar of Texas gave the Austin Lawyers Guild an award for the program. I was flattered to accept on ALG's behalf, but it really belongs to the attorneys who have volunteered with the program.
You can get involved! The Austin Lawyers Guild and the Austin Young Lawyers Association are co-hosting a free lunchtime CLE on August 12, 2013, to teach people about STPP student ticketing cases.
