Starting in 2017, schools in Missouri will no longer handle the aftermath of fights between students internally. According to a new statute, School Resource Officers (SROs) and local authorities will now get involved and students may be charged with a felony.

Think Progress originally reported that the new statute will take effect on Jan. 1 and could play a major role in strengthening the school-to-prison pipeline, which could see an increasing number of kids with criminal records at a young age. 

As numerous accounts have shown, once someone is introduced into the criminal justice system, it can be a trying task to move on without returning to it.

The new statute makes students who fight on school property – which includes buses – eligible for a Class E felony of assault in the third degree , which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. Threats to cause harm could result in a Class A misdemeanor and the assault of a “special person” could result in a Class D felony with a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

This new step will surely have a significant impact on the futures of Black and Brown children if upheld, and there’s no telling how much it could negatively influence communities of color on a grand scale.

Author

  • Keith Reid-Cleveland is a proud product of Chicago's Southside and the Missouri School of Journalism. The Black Youth Project News Editor has written about politics, race and entertainment for multiple publications, such as Uproxx, The Undefeated, Black Nerd Problems, Comic Book Resources and more.