Equal Justice Works Fellow Cary Brege, an attorney at Legal Aid of North Carolina, is investigating suspension rates and challenging the school-to-prison pipeline.

She recently helped one client – an eigth-grade student named Marcus Renkel – challenge his school and appeal suspension after he was disciplined for reporting a bomb threat he saw scrawled in a school restroom. Read more about Marcus’ case here.

Cary is an advocate for better discipline in schools. She recently co-authored an op-ed calling on Wake County’s school board to make some changes. Read the full article here and see the excerpt below.

Misbehavior results from a complex convergence of factors, some of which schools can’t control. Parents and communities must step up in an effort to alleviate the pipeline – as we’ve all heard, “It takes a village.” However, schools must also be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem…

…Other school districts and communities across the nation have pioneered successful ways to address the problem, while keeping schools safe and improving outcomes…[the] school board should follow suit by getting feedback from the community; emphasizing positive behavior management strategies; expanding services for the most at-risk students; creating alternatives to suspensions for minor infractions; eliminating “zero tolerance” punishments; ensuring the disciplinary process is fair and accurate; and creating more high-quality alternative education programs.

-Aaron