Youth at School

New data from the Texas Office of Court Administration reveals that two state laws passed in 2013 have fueled an 83 percent decline in the number of schoolchildren prosecuted in adult court for minor infractions. Including other misdemeanor school-based offenses, almost 90,000 juvenile cases were kept out of adult court by the new laws, which were written to encourage schools to handle most behavior problems internally instead of relying on police or the courts. The Foundation’s National Campaign to Reform Juvenile Justice supports juvenile justice reform efforts in Texas and more than 30 other states.