The new state statute in Missouri has parents and the community concerned about the increased connection between school and prison.

This new statewide law positions students to face possible felony charges from fighting instead of misdemeanors. The statute will push to no longer handle fights domestically but now arrest and charge students regardless of age according to Think Progress.

Non-supporters view this system as the “school to prison pipeline” in which students (predominantly of color) are exposed to the criminal justice system, and severely penalized for inappropriate school behavior rather than educated on their wrongs.