Youth at the center

This section is regarding the youth of Missouri. It points out the struggles kids in this state endure. One in every five children live in a home with little to no food at some time during the year. According to the document, a solution to this problem is for public schools to provide free meals to their students. However, schools can also add complications for the lives of their students. In the 2011-12 school year, 14.3 percent of black elementary school students in Missouri were suspended, compared to 1.8 percent of white students. The report states Missouri has the highest disciplinary gap in schools between its white and black students in the U.S.. This hurts academic performances and lowers teacher expectations, which is shown to lead to incarceration, according to the report.  A few of the reforms the report spells out are: Elimination of out-of-school suspension and expulsion from Pre-K to 3rd grade and training for school organizations on the needs and legal rights of students.