New York City Schools Locked Down

The American Civil Liberties Union says some New York City schools are closer to jails than they are to nurturing learning environments. A new report by the New York branch of the ACLU found that at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, the police department had 4,625 school safety agents in the hallways in addition to more than 200 armed police officers assigned to schools. Students have to go through metal detectors, searches, and the confiscation of school supplies and lunches according to the report. Most of the students who deal with such conditions are poor, black and Latino. The report’s authors argue if you set up the schools like jails, some of the students will inevitably wind up becoming criminals.