A documentary unveiling the Dark Reality of Educational Injustice:

PRESCHOOL TO PRISON

Screening: Tuesday, January 28, 2025 • 5:30 PM
Maysles Documentary Center

Post-screening discussion with filmmakers Dr. Karen Baptiste and Richard Pelzer II!

This documentary is a springboard to dismantle the preschool to prison pipeline by replacing federal, state and local policies that support harsh school discipline with humane policies centered on equitable practices for children of color and children with special needs.

Countless children are educationally lynched in the United States with labels such as emotionally disturbed and intellectually disabled, resulting in children under the age of 8 being shuffled from school to prison for minor infractions; Meanwhile, investors are cashing in on this new form of slavery with Black & brown children being disproportionately impacted the most.

PRESCHOOL TO PRISON is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs to go from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.