State Lawmaker: Send Ninth-Graders to Prison to Teach Them Lesson
Refuse to do your homework? Go directly to jail. But this Missouri lawmaker isn't playing games.
Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis, has introduced a bill requiring public school ninth-graders tour a state correctional center before they start their sophomore year, the Columbia Tribune reported.
The tactic, meant to scare kids into good behavior, would start in the 2009-2010 school year. Principals and superintendents who do not comply would face being fired.
The goal is to "show them that crime doesn’t pay," Green said. "We have a lot of forks in the road in our lives. One bad decision can ruin a young person’s entire life.
"Showing them the consequences might be enough to deter them from taking that wrong turn."