Our Team's Mission

The Juvenile Justice Momentum team focuses on juvenile justice issues and is composed of community members from City Heights and all areas of San Diego. The team envisions healthy communities free from policing and incarceration of children, where youth and their families have resources to heal, thrive and overcome institutionalized oppression. Juvenile Justice's mission is to advocate for youth justice and center the voices of community members, in particular those who have been impacted by the carceral system as youth, and their families.

San Diego County adult and juvenile arrest rates have been declining from 2009 to 2018.

Uprise Theatre Lawyer Annie Rios visit Juvenile Justice team 

The Juvenile Justice Momentum Team had their first meeting of the year on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Lawyer Annie Rios from Uprise Theatre was a special guest and held a Know Your Rights presentation for the team. Thank you, Annie and welcome back team members! It was a great experience and the team is interested in collaborating with Rios. Stay tuned. View more photos by clicking here.

Senate Bill 274 Passes Out of the Assembly Education Committee!

Mid-City CAN's Juvenile Justice team is thrilled that Senate Bill 274 that will end defiance suspensions for K-12 students passed out of the Assembly Education Committee on July 12! Thank you to Senator Skinner, Assemblymembers Muratsuchi, McCarty, Lee and Quirk-Silva, our team and coalition for your hard work to advance the bill! We also want to give a shoutout to youth members Ezra and Erik for all amazing effort! Both were in Sacramento last month to lobby with organizer Manuel and the coalition. Erik and Ezra spoke during 8 meetings and later recorded a video to explain why defiance suspensions are ineffective. "The suspensions, instead of helping the students and putting them on the right track, all it did was push them out of the school system leaving them with less than a chance to graduate and an overall worse situation," stated Erik. Click below to view Ezra's and Erik's video:

Thank you Ezra and Erik for your incredible work!

Details of Senate Bill 274

(1) Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed an act from a list of specified acts, including, among other acts, disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. Existing law authorizes a teacher to suspend any pupil from class for any of the listed acts, including willful defiance, for the day of the suspension and the day following.

Existing law prohibits the suspension of a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive, and recommending the expulsion of a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of those school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. Existing law, until July 1, 2025, prohibits the suspension of a pupil enrolled in any of grades 6 to 8, inclusive, for those acts. Existing law applies these same provisions to charter schools.

This bill would extend the prohibition against the suspension of pupils enrolled in any of grades 6 to 8, inclusive, including those pupils enrolled in a charter school, for disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties to all grades, by 4 years to instead be until July 1, 2029, and, commencing July 1, 2024, would prohibit the suspension of pupils enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, including those pupils enrolled in a charter school, for those acts until July 1, 2029, but would retain a teacher’s existing authorization to suspend any pupil in any grade from class for any of the listed acts, including willful defiance, for the day of the suspension and the day following, as provided.

(2) Existing law authorizes suspension to be imposed only when other means of correction, including, among other things, a conference between school personnel, the pupil’s parent or guardian, and the pupil, or participation in a restorative justice program, fail to bring about proper conduct, except as provided.

This bill would authorize certificated and classified employees, including certificated and noncertificated employees at charter schools, to refer pupils to school administrators for appropriate and timely in-school interventions or supports, from the specified list of other means of correction, for willful defiance, and would require school administrators, including charter school administrators, within 5 business days, to document the actions taken and to place that documentation in the pupil’s record, as specified. The bill would also require the school administrator, by the end of the 5th business day, to inform the referring employee, verbally or in writing, what actions were taken and, if none, the rationale used for not providing any appropriate or timely in-school interventions or supports. By imposing additional duties on public school administrators, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that alternatives to suspension or expulsion be imposed against a pupil who is truant, tardy, or otherwise absent from school activities.

This bill would instead prohibit a suspension or expulsion from being imposed against a pupil based solely on the fact that they are otherwise absent from school activities.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Juvenile Justice’s trip to Sacramento a huge success

Mid-City CAN’s Juvenile Justice and Youth Council members were in Sacramento for the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color’s (ABMoC) Lobby Day on April 18. It was an exciting and productive trip for the team, joining over a hundred coalition partners including more than 60 youth, and meeting with state representatives to ask them to support bills that would dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, provide education equity, community and safety justice, healing, youth leadership, and justice and economic security. 

After a policy briefing with coalition partners, the Juvenile Justice team lobbied for several bills including Senate Bill 274 that would end “defiance” suspensions for K-12 students. “Defiance” can be interpreted as talking too loud, sleeping in class, wearing a hat, and more. SB 274 will focus on keeping kids in school instead of tracking them to the Juvenile Justice system and will also remove suspensions for truancies and tardiness. SB 274 will bring education equity by removing school practices that disproportionately impact BIPOC, LGBTQ, and students with disabilities. 

The team also supported Assembly Bill 702 that ensures Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act funds go to community-based organizations to provide programming for youth impacted by the justice system as well as Assembly Bill 1028 that focuses on survivor safety and health, and Assembly Bill 1512 that preserves benefits for foster youth who need the cash aid.  

Overall, Lobby Day was a tremendous success and an invigorating experience for the team working with partners to support youth.

Juvenile Justice to support bill AB 1323 that protects students

Mid-City CAN's Juvenile Justice team has voted to support Assembly Bill (AB) 1323 which will eliminate unnecessary police interactions in schools. The bill, introduced on February 16, 2023 by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, will empower educators, protect students, and restore educator discretion by eliminating state mandates that require school staff to notify law enforcement of many types of incidents labeled as “disruption”. Under current state law, teachers, staff and administrators who do not report “disruptions” can be subjected to a fine of up to $1,000 which has led to student interaction with police for minor incidents. 

In December, an article by inewsource reported that: 

In the 2021-22 school year, African American students accounted for more than 18% of the 3,669 total suspensions in San Diego Unified while making up less than 8% of the student population.  

The San Diego and Hoover high school clusters, south of Interstate 8, had the highest suspension rates in the district, respectively. 

Black, Latinx and Indigenous youth of color are disproportionately affected by policing in schools across our state and in San Diego due to current policies that schools have to abide by. 

Next month, members of the team will head to Sacramento to join the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC) on April 18 for Lobby Day. During the visit they will speak to legislators and their staff about policy priorities, goals and ask them to crack the school-to-prison pipeline by supporting SB 274 to end suspensions for defiance, and AB 1323 to eliminate requirement to notify police of school disruptions.  

Join Mid-City CAN’s Juvenile Justice for their next meeting at Mid-City CAN’s office on March 28 from 5:30pm – 7pm or contact Manuel Enriquez via email: [email protected], or phone (619) 636-6418 to get involved.

Nuestro Equipo de Justicia Juvenil

Somos un equipo de impulso de Mid-City CAN con sede en City Heights, compuesto por miembros de la comunidad de todas las áreas de San Diego que nos unimos para enfocarnos en problemas de justicia juvenil. 

Visualizamos comunidades saludables libres de encarcelamiento de niños, donde los jóvenes y sus familias tengan recursos para sanar, y sobrepasar opresión institucionalizada.

Nuestra misión es abogar por la justicia juvenil y enfocar las voces de los miembros de la comunidad, en particular aquellos que han sido afectados por el sistema carcelario cuando eran jóvenes y sus familias.

Participe en nuestras reuniones!

Nos reunimos cada cuarto jueves del mes: Mid-City CAN (4305 University Ave Ste 550, San Diego, CA 92105) 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Contacto: Manuel Enriquez at [email protected] or 619-272-7582 ext. 106