Jackson Free Press

Claiming alternative school staffers have unconstitutionally punished students over minor offenses, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a class-action lawsuit against Jackson Public Schools yesterday.

The suit alleges that the Capital City Alternative School uses hours of shackling and handcuffing as punishment for offenses such as not wearing a belt or talking too loudly. The shackled students were then left unsupervised and denied classroom instruction. JPS also refused to respond to a letter asking the district to end the practice, according to an SPLC release.

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I'm sure this is a systemic problem for JPS that has been going on for awhile, however, once it was brought to Edwards' attention, it should have been something that he addressed with urgency. Just another issue that was not dealt with under his watch. I don't know the answers but I sure as h*ll know that you can't handcuff kids for hours at a time. That says that you didn't have the expertise or the capacity to deal with a problem student.

833WMaple

Jun 9 2011