Safe Schools, Fair Schools launches campaign tonight in Fayetteville

North Carolina suspends students at a rate 45 percent higher than the national average. This suspension crisis threatens students’ right to an education, say experts, because many students are completely excluded from the school system for minor non-violent offenses.  Without any educational services, students fall behind academically and are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior.  Being suspended from school increases the likelihood of dropping out by three times.

Cumberland County has the second-highest long-term suspension rate in the state. This is why NC Justice Center and Advocates for Children’s Services are beginning their Safe Schools, Fair Schools campaign with an event in Cumberland County at Fayetteville State University, in conjunction with FSU’s Institute for Community Justice.

The Justice Center and Advocates for Children’s Services, a program of Legal Aid of North Carolina, are hosting a community forum on the issue of suspensions in Cumberland County on March 24. Advocates and community members will gather in Room 236 of the Rudolph Jones Student Center at Fayetteville State University from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, see the suspension op-ed from this weekend’s News & Observer by the Justice Center’s Beth Jacobs and Cary Brege from Legal Aid of North Carolina.