Tell the Desoto County School Board end discriminatory zero tolerance discipline


Here is what the mother of a boy who was caught-up in the Desoto County's discriminatory “zero tolerance discipline” rules; (Note; Desoto County is not in CA but still worth putting my name on petition to the Desoto County school authorities, so I did sign the petition)


on the ACLU web page titled “A Gang Sign or School Pride?”, it states:
From Janet Hightower, mother of Dontadrian (Photo omitted):
Quote Earlier this year, my son posed for a school photo holding up three fingers—just like in the photo you see here.

It was a harmless gesture, but when school administrators saw the photo, they interpreted it as a gang sign. Rather than speak with my son to find out the truth, the school suspended him and nearly kicked him out of school.

My son Dontadrian is a good kid. He’s kind, he studies hard, he always texts to tell me where he is—he’s never been anywhere near a gang. The three fingers he’s holding represent his football jersey number.
But none of that mattered because of the school’s "zero tolerance" approach to discipline, where even minor infractions—and sometimes even innocent gestures—are treated as dangerous crimes.

And when the student is a person of color, those infractions are often treated more harshly.
So I’m taking a stand.

I’m not going to let our children’s futures be ruined because of discriminatory zero-tolerance discipline. I’m going to the Desoto County School Board meeting April 8 to convince administrators to change it.
Will you join me and sign the petition calling on the Desoto County school board to reinstate my son’s school days and change discriminatory “zero tolerance” discipline? At the meeting, I'll deliver your petitions by hand.