Cohen Introduces Bill to Create Public Awareness Campaign to Help Kids Stay in School

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) today introduced legislation to create a positive public awareness campaign to educate children about the benefits of staying in school. Statistics show that children who drop out of school often end up turning to a life of crime.

“Our children need to be reminded of how important it is to stay in school and graduate,” said Congressman Cohen. “There is a direct correlation between education and incarceration. If a child drops out of school, they will more than likely turn to a life of crime. But if they continue their education, the sky is the limit. A nationwide public awareness campaign would help our children stay in school and recognize their full potential.”

The Congressman authored the Positive Reduction of Incarceration by Maximizing Education (PRIME) Act so children can recognize the benefits of continuing their education. Under the bill (H.R.5091), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the U.S. Department of Justice would use existing funds to establish a public awareness campaign that notes the link between a failed education and incarceration. The measure would serve to decrease the influx of children in jail by exposing them to the benefits of an education.

About one in every 10 male high school dropouts lands in jail or a juvenile detention center, compared with one in 35 male high school graduates. The Coalition for Juvenile Justice has found that high school dropouts are three and a half times more likely than high school graduates to be arrested for a crime.

The legislation is cosponsored by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Congresswoman Eleanor Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).