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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 2014)
Bids/Classifieds Advertising deadlines 12:00 Noon Monday Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. To place your ad, email advertising@theskanner.com By Freddie Allen NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – In an effort to provide suf- ficient educational opportu- nities for incarcerated youth, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education have released a joint corrections guidance for state educational agen- cies, a move expected to help Black youth, a group confined to juvenile correc- tional facilities at higher rates than their White peers. Taking cues from the “My Brother’s Keeper” Task Force report released earlier this year that recommended reforming “the juvenile and criminal justice systems to reduce unnecessary interac- tions for youth and enforce the rights of incarcerated youth to a quality educa- tion,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that stu- dents in juvenile justice facilities need a world-class education and rigorous coursework to help them successfully transition out of facilities and back into the classroom or the work- force becoming productive members of society. “Young people should not fall off track for life just because they come into con- tact with the justice sys- tem,” Duncan said, during a recent visit to the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center Alexandria, Va. The Education Depart- ment said that “60,000 young people face confine- ment in juvenile justice or secure-care facilities nation- ally every day,” costing nearly $90,000 per person annually. According to The Sen- tencing Project, a group that advocates for criminal jus- tice reform and seeks to address unjust racial dispar- ities and practices in the criminal justice system, “Despite a drop in overall arrest rates nationally, Black youth are still twice as like- ly to be arrested as White youth.” Even though Black youth comprise just 14 percent of the juvenile population, the Sentencing Project reported that young Blacks represent FREDDIE ALLEN/NNPA/FILE PHOTO Feds Seek Expanded Education for Jailed Youth Attorney General Eric Holder seeks better educational opportunities for imprisoned juveniles. table accommodations for children with disabilities housed in correctional facil- ‘Young people should not fall off track for life just because they come into contact with the justice system’ 40 percent of young people locked behind bars. White youth account for 53 per- cent of all youth and 33 per- cent of incarcerated youth. The Correctional Educa- tion Guidance calls for edu- cation services for detained youth to be similar to pro- grams found for students in community schools equi- ities and access to some types of federal financial aid, including Pell grants for incarcerated students that meet the eligibility require- ments and clarification on civil rights laws that prohib- it discrimination “students in traditional public schools also apply to educational services and supports pro- vided to youth in juvenile justice residential facili- ties.” The guidance also said that states and state educa- tional agencies need to work to identify students who may have undiagnosed dis- abilities in order to get them the academic support that fits their needs. A report by the National Center for Education Statis- tics found that between 1998 – 2007, 12 percent of Black students, 6 to 21 years old received support under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), compared to 8 per- cent of White students. In a “Dear Colleague” let- ter that was released with the guidance package, Edu- cation Department officials wrote: “Absent a specific exception, all IDEA protec- tions apply to students with disabilities in correctional facilities and their parents. Supporting effective and accountable education for incarcerated and at-risk youth can result in cost sav- ings to the public and enable troubled youth to obtain an education and enhance their future employment options and life choices.” Even though students can’t receive Title IV stu- dent loans while incarcerat- ed they can still apply for federal Pell grants as long as they’re confined to juvenile justice facilities that fall under local and county jurisdictions. Students that are convict- ed of drug crimes as adults (possession and sales) risk suspension of their federal financial aid if the offense occurred while they were receiving assistance. This provision may dispropor- tionately have a negative impact on Blacks who are arrested and convicted of drug crimes at higher rates than their White peers. Stu- dents that serve time for “a forcible or non-forcible sex- ual offense” and still face civil penalties once they are released are ineligible to receive Pell Grants. During the announcement about the corrections guid- ance package, Attorney General Eric H. Holder said that all children deserve equal access to a high-qual- ity public education and that includes children in the juvenile justice system. Ella’s Kitchen formerly Soup & Soap SOUL FOOD ...one taste will bring you back. BREAKFAST • LUNCH SPECIALS DINNER • SEAFOOD • DESSERT “Finally!! 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