As part of the city of Meridian’s settlement agreement with the United States Department of Justice, the city and the Meridian Police Department will hold a meeting updating the community about the “school-to-prison pipeline” lawsuit. 

The meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church on 544 James E. Chaney Drive in Meridian. 

The meeting will be a chance for city officials and the community to discuss the ongoing “Certain Settlement Agreement between the United States Department of Justice and the City of Meridian.”

Since the investigation began in 2011, MPD has made adjustments to their policies and procedures at the request of the DOJ. 

Previously accused of neglecting the constitutional rights of children by incarcerating them for minor school rule infractions, MPD stopped responding to referrals from the Meridian Public School District. The district then created its own internal police department. MPD now can arrest a juvenile at school only if an officer saw the offense and had probable cause. 

These changes, reviewed by an independent auditor jointly chosen by MPD and the DOJ, are part of a settlement agreement between the city and the DOJ for what many critics called a “school-to-prison pipeline.”

The DOJ filed a complaint in 2012 against the City of Meridian, Lauderdale County Youth Court Judges Frank Coleman and Veldore Young, Lauderdale County and the State of Mississippi – specifically the Department of Human Services and Division of Youth Services. 

The complaint alleged the defendants neglected the constitutional rights of children by incarcerating them for minor school rule infractions, then denying their court rights of due process and fairness.

“Defendants’ concerted actions punish children in Meridian, Mississippi so arbitrarily and severely as to shock the conscience, and deprive these children of liberty and educational opportunities on an ongoing basis,” said the complaint.

The DOJ also said that these arrests led to increased high school dropout rates, “which translate to higher unemployment, poor health, shorter lifespan, lower earning and increased future contacts with the criminal justice system.”

The MPD and Meridian Public School District disproportionately arrested and punished black and disabled students for minor school rule infractions. From fall 2006 to spring 2009, and part of the 2009-2010 school year, every student referred to law enforcement by the MPSD was black, all students expelled were black and 96 percent of students suspended were black. Eighty-six percent of the district’s students are black, according to the complaint.

MPSD had 10 times as many out-of-school suspensions for the 2009-2010 school year, 37.6, per 100 students as the national average of 3.7, according to US Department. of Education numbers analyzed by the ACLU. 

The district referred a student to the MPD for typically “criminal” (DOJ quotations) offenses such as possession of drugs or weapons but also for breaking school rules such as: refusing to follow the directions of a teacher, profanity, disrespect, violating the dress code, talking back and disrupting the classroom, according to the DOJ. 

“MPD command staff and officers have characterized the role of MPD in the arrest and transport of District students as “just a taxi service” between the District and the Juvenile Center,” the DOJ said. 

In August of 2012, the defendants – the city, youth court judges, the county and the state – denied all allegations.

In September of 2015, the state and city entered into a settlement agreement in which they admitted no legal liability. Both agreed to various reforms regarding policies, practices and training. The DOJ case against Lauderdale County and Lauderdale County Youth Court Judges has not yet been resolved and remains in litigation.

The DOJ ruled the MPD shouldn’t respond to school discipline issues such as: disorderly conduct, disrupting the classroom, trespassing, loitering, swearing, violating the dress code and fighting that does not involve serious physical injury or a weapon. 

As part of the settlement, the defendants agreed to reviews by an independent auditor twice a year and an open community meeting every six months. 

The auditor noted in July 2016 that police had made significant progress in handling juvenile cases, and said that after January of 2012, police made no “disciplinary” type arrests. 

In the areas where the auditor gave the MPD partial or no compliance reviews, the auditor said the new policies and procedures needed to be written and not just delivered verbally. Additionally, the auditor could not review the unfinished Memorandum of Understanding between the police and school district. 

The auditor did give non-compliance reviews on MPD’s collecting data on juvenile arrests and increasing public access to data as well as developing and implementing a community input program. At the time of the audit, MPD had not yet hosted any community input meetings as agreed in the settlement. 

The DOJ required the public input meetings to keep the community informed about the reforms and processes of the agreement and give citizens a chance to provide input. The DOJ required these meetings be held every six months and publicized through print media, radio and Internet one week prior. 

According to Thursday’s agenda, officials from the MPD, DOJ and Police Foundation will attend. The meeting will explain the settlement agreement and procedural history of the action and what measures have been made. A survey for the community will be distributed and time will be allotted for public discussion. 

The next state meeting with Division of Youth Services is scheduled for Jan. 5 at a location to be determined.