Just as striking, the report said, was that the most frequent reporters were middle schools, whose students are usually 11 to 14 years old. Nearly half of criminal complaints were issued to students younger than 14 — in some cases much younger. State law doesn’t require that law enforcement be notified of such conduct by minors, but many Virginia schools do it anyway. In the state, and nationally, students referred to law enforcement are disproportionately African Americans and children with disabilities. A new state law is in place to encourage local school boards to develop alternatives to suspending students, including counseling, community service and mediation.

Source: Washington Post October 22, 2017 22:41 UTC