Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. It is a pleasure to watch my fellow Ohioan and friend and the gentleman from New York on this House floor every Monday night bringing the message of the Congressional Black Caucus because indeed they are the people who carry our message to the United States. Mr. Speaker, the school-to-prison pipeline is robbing far too many children of productive futures. Instead of learning in classrooms, a large percentage of our Nation's at-risk students sit in jail cells. The numbers don't lie. Black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than White students. More than one in four boys of color with disabilities and nearly one in five girls of color with disabilities receives an out-of-school suspension. And studies show that students who are suspended or expelled in school are more likely to end up in prison. Our Nation's children deserve better. It is time we prioritize education and not incarceration. Comprehensive criminal justice reform must include policies which dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. We must reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, a bill that funds delinquency prevention and improvements in State and local juvenile justice programs, supports restorative initiatives, and promotes early intervention. Disrupting the pipeline will provide a pathway for a successful future and lessen the burden on our current judicial system.…”