Resources

This is a fact sheet from Educators in Solidarity, highlighting what is and is not working in our classrooms and schools.
This resource is associated with our Pay or Stay report, found in the publications section of our website. Beginning in September 2015, Texas Appleseed sent open records requests pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act to the sheriffs' offices of the 25 most populous Texas counties. We requested complete jail booking records for all individuals booked into the county jail from January 2012 through June 2015. Of the counties that were able to produce electronic jail booking records, only 7 counties produced records from which we were able to identify which jail bookings were for fine-only offenses alone. This spreadsheet contains the data analysis of the fine-only jail bookings from those 7 counties: El Paso, Hidalgo, Jefferson, Lubbock, McLennan, Travis and Williamson counties. Highlights from this data analysis are contained in our report co-authored with the Texas Fair Defense Project, Pay or Stay: The High Cost of Jailing Texans for Fines and Fees, available at www.texasappleseed.org. Questions about the data can be directed to Mary Mergler, mmergler@texasappleseed.net or (512) 473-2800 x106.
Jail for Fines Wastes Taxpayer Dollars and Harms Public Safety. Fine-only offenses, such as traffic tickets and city ordinance violations, are misdemeanors that are intended by Texas law to be punishable by only a fine and no jail time. These cases are handled by municipal and justice courts.
The Problem: Austin ISD uses harmful classroom removals, like out-of-school suspensions, to punish very young students. Black students and students who receive special education services are overrepresented in this discipline system. Austin ISD’s youngest students are facing in-school and out-of- school suspensions and alternative school placements for completely age appropriate behaviors and for behaviors that should be addressed with services and positive supports.

Pages

Criminal Discovery
Immigrant Children & Families
Mental Health
Fines & Fees
Foster Care & Courts
Homeless Youth
Insurance
Juvenile Justice
Other Issues
Payday & Auto Title Lending Reform
Bail Reform & Pretrial Justice
Protecting Seniors from Financial Abuse
Civil Asset Forfeiture
Clean Slate Texas
Coerced Debt
Criminal Justice
Debt Collection
Disaster Recovery & Fair Housing
Education Justice
Fair Financial Services