The Texas Tribune

Over the past decade, school districts across Texas have sought to make classrooms safer by swelling the number of police officers on campuses and taking a tougher stance on misbehavior. But the crackdown has had an unexpected consequence: sweeping tens of thousands of elementary students and middle schoolers into the justice system.

Outside Austin, an 11-year-old bumped into a school counselor. In Victoria, a 10-year-old said he saw someone on campus with a weapon, but later admitted he had made up the story. In El Paso, a 10-year-old kicked an assistant principal after his cellphone was taken away. All three found themselves in the justice system. While the case against the boy in El Paso was dropped two months after the incident, court records show, the consequences for his family were immense. His mother, Grace Lee-Vazquez, said she shouldered thousands of dollars in legal bills. The boy, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and still struggles to double-knot his shoelaces, became anxious about school. His grades tumbled