detention for not doing homework

Michigan judge denies release of teenage girl who was jailed after not doing homework

A 15-year-old Black girl who has been incarcerated in Michigan since mid-May after she failed to do her online schoolwork won't be returning home, a judge decided Monday, in a case that has stoked outrage that it is emblematic of systemic racism and the criminalization of Black children.

Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan determined that the girl has been benefiting from a residential treatment program at a juvenile detention center, but is not yet ready to be with her mother. Brennan, the presiding judge of the court's Family Division, scheduled another hearing for September, NBC affiliate WDIV reported.

The girl, who is being identified only by her middle name, Grace, was the subject of a report published last week by ProPublica Illinois , with politicians and community activists expressing outrage over her incarceration.

During a three-hour proceeding, Brennan told Grace that it was in her best interest to stay in the program after all of the progress she had been making.

"Give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something," Brennan said, according to the Detroit News . "The right thing is for you and your mom to be separated for right now."

Grace, however, told the judge that she wanted to go home: "I miss my mom. I can control myself. I can be obedient."

After the hearing, an attorney for the family, Jonathan Biernat, confirmed that Grace had been making strides, but the "fight for her release" is ongoing. He was unavailable for further comment later Monday.

This past school year, Grace was a sophomore at Groves High School in the Birmingham Public Schools, which is 79 percent white, according to school district data.

Over the past few days, parents and students in suburban Detroit have protested in support of Grace's release from the Children's Village in Oakland County , the detention center where she's been held in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic .

At Monday's hearing, Brennan stressed that police had responded to incidents between the mother and the daughter three times, and that Grace's detainment came out of violating probation related to charges of assault and theft from last year, ProPublica reported .

"She was not detained because she didn't turn her homework in," Brennan said. "She was detained because I found her to be a threat of harm to her mother based on everything I knew."

Brennan also addressed the scrutiny the case has come under.

"My role is to make decisions that are in this young lady's best interest, period," Brennan said. "I took an oath that I would not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism."

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is among those who have questioned whether race was a factor in detaining Grace. Black youth in Michigan are more than four times as likely to be detained or committed than white youth, according to 2015 data analyzed by the nonprofit Sentencing Project .

"If it was a white young person, I really question whether the judge would have done this," Dingell said Monday on MSNBC. "Putting a young person in a confined area in the midst of COVID isn't the answer."

On Thursday, the Michigan Supreme Court said it would review the circumstances surrounding Grace's detainment.

Her case not only touches upon the issue of racial bias within the criminal justice system, but is also entwined with larger concerns over the coronavirus' spread in juvenile detention centers , as well as how children with learning disabilities are being disparately affected during the pandemic as a result of home schooling.

According to ProPublica, Grace has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and receives special education services.

The girl and her mother, identified as Charisse, had bouts of conflict. In 2018, Grace was placed into a court diversion program for "incorrigibility," but was released from it early, Charisse told ProPublica.

In November, an assault charge was filed against Grace after police were called to an incident in which the mother said Grace became violent because she was upset she couldn't go to a friend's house. Weeks later, according to ProPublica, Grace was charged with larceny after she was caught on surveillance video stealing another student's cellphone from a school locker room. The phone was subsequently returned.

A juvenile court hearing was held virtually in April, and a caseworker told the judge that Grace should receive mental health and anger management treatment at a residential facility; the prosecutor agreed. A court-appointed attorney asked for probation for Grace because she had not been in any further trouble since November and because of COVID-19 concerns at detention facilities, ProPublica reported.

"My mom and I are working each day to better ourselves and our relationship, and I think that the removal from my home would be an intrusion on our progress," Grace said at the time, according to ProPublica.

Brennan sentenced Grace to "intensive probation," with several requirements, including staying home, checking in with a caseworker, no phone use and completing her schoolwork. But the girl was unable to focus properly while learning from home, and she told a new caseworker in April that she felt anxious about the probation and overwhelmed.

After her caseworker learned she had fallen back asleep one day and failed to do her homework, a hearing was held in May and the judge decided she had violated the terms of her probation.

ProPublica noted that Grace's teacher had told the caseworker in an email that Grace was "not out of alignment with most of my other students," and how she was coping was "no one's fault because we did not see this unprecedented global pandemic coming."

Grace was ordered to juvenile detention because she was deemed a "threat to community as original charge was assault and theft," according to court records.

Grace's supporters say the court's decision to incarcerate her simply underscores the racial disparities in even the juvenile system. According to ProPublica, from January 2016 through June 2020, about 4,800 juvenile cases were referred to the Oakland County Circuit Court. About 42 percent involved Black youth, although the population in the county is about 15 percent.

Tylene Henry, who has a teenage son in the local school district and was among several supporters outside of the courthouse Monday, said she doesn't know Grace, but her situation has "opened up my eyes to the school-to-prison pipeline problem."

Henry said she supports Grace's release and a larger overhaul of the juvenile system.

"There's a lot of students like Grace. They're put into the criminal justice system as children instead of getting the help they really need," she said. "Why does mental health and behavioral health treatment have to come at a cost of being held in a detention center?"

Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.

• 2024 Sexiest Men Of the Moment
• Of The Essence
• Celebrity News
• If Not For My Girls
• The State Of R&B
• Time Of Essence
• 2024 ESSENCE FASHION HOUSE
• SSENSE X ESSENCE
• 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
• Fashion News
• Accessories
• 2024 Best In Beauty Awards
• Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
• 2024 Travel Awards
• Relationships
• Bridal Bliss
• Lifestyle News
• Health & Wellness
• ESSENCE Eats
• Food & Drink
• Money & Career
• Latest News
• Black Futures
• Paint The Polls Black
• Essence Holiday Gift Guide 2023
• 2024 ESSENCE Fashion House
• 2024 Black Women In Hollywood
• 2024 ESSENCE Hollywood House
• 2024 ESSENCE Film Festival
• 2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
• 2023 Wellness House
• 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
• NaturallyCurly

A Teenage Girl Was Jailed For Not Doing Homework, A Michigan Judge Denied Her Release

Back in May, a 15-year-old Black girl was incarcerated in juvenile detention , allegedly for violating her probation for failing to submit online schoolwork.

Now that girl, identified as “Grace,” will remain incarcerated in Michigan after Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan declined her request for early release and scheduled another hearing for September, according to Click on Detroit.

The Detroit News reports that Grace was on probation for assault and theft charges related to a confrontation with her mother in November.

Brennan framed the separation as being good for the young teen.

“Give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something,” Brennan said. “The right thing is for you and your mom to be separated for right now.”

“She was not detained because she didn’t turn her homework in,” the judge emphasized. “She was detained because she was a threat to her mother.”

Before Brennan handed down her decision, she allowed Grace to speak. The teen said that she wanted to go home, noting, “I can control myself. I can be obedient.”

“I miss my mom,” the 15-year-old added.

Grace’s story drew attention and widespread criticism after ProPublica released a report about her case, particularly due to the criminalization of Black children.

“I miss my mom. I can control myself. I can be obedient,” the 15-year-old known as Grace said during her Monday hearing. Black youth in Michigan are more than four times as likely to be detained or committed than white youth. #mileg https://t.co/0S8GyOVMol — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 21, 2020

Despite the outrage, Brennan defended her decision.

“My role is to make decisions that are in this young lady’s best interest, period,” she said. “I took an oath that I would not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism.”

COMPANY INFORMATION Our Company Customer Service Essence Ventures Change Your Address Contact Us Job Opportunities Internships Media Kit SUBSCRIBE Newsletters Give a Gift of ESSENCE Print & Digital App FOLLOW US MORE ON ESSENCE Home Love Celebrity Beauty Hair Fashion ESSENCE festival ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Judge Declines to Release Michigan Girl in Juvenile Detention for Not Doing Homework

• By Jon Blistein

Jon Blistein

A Michigan judge declined to release a teenager who was placed in juvenile detention after not doing her homework, saying the girl is “blooming there, but there is more work to be done,” The Detroit Free Press reports.

The 15-year-old, who is black and being identified by her middle name, Grace, has been in juvenile detention since mid-May. While Grace had previously been in trouble for fighting with her mother and stealing, she was incarcerated for violating her probation by not completing online coursework when her school switched to remote learning because of COVID-19.

Grace’s story garnered national attention following a report spearheaded by ProPublica Illinois, the Free Press, and Bridge Magazine , which has led to protests outside the courthouse demanding Grace’s release. Members of Congress have also gotten involved, with Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell telling MSNBC on Monday, “If it was a white young person, I really question whether the judge would have done this. Putting a young person in a confined area in the midst of COVID isn’t the answer.”

During the court hearing Monday, attorneys for Grace argued that she was not receiving proper therapy and educational support at the facility. Grace herself testified that she was falling further behind in her schoolwork, because “the schooling here is beneath my level of education.” She added, “I know you may not seem to think this is a punishment, but in my heart, I feel the aching and the loss as if it were a punishment.”

In a statement, Grace’s attorneys Jonathan Biernat and Saima Khalil said, “While we are deeply disappointed by the judge’s decision yesterday, we will continue to fight for Grace’s release. Grace belongs at home with her mother. Grace is an amazing young woman who is remarkably brave and resilient. She would like to thank everyone who has reached out and shown their support during this trying time.”

A caseworker at the Children’s Village center, where Grace has been incarcerated, said Grace had been well-behaved and completed two stages out of a five-stage program. The caseworker recommended that Grace complete the entire program, which could take three and a half more months.

Editor’s picks

Every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term, the 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, inside sammy davis jr.'s secret satanic past .

Judge Mary Ellen Brennan acknowledged Grace’s progress and called the report “as good as it gets,” but then went on to argue that “the worst thing I can do is say you are doing great, now let’s get you home and watch the whole thing blow up.”

During the hearing, Brennan reportedly devoted 45 minutes to telling Grace directly about incidents that had gotten her in trouble in the past. She also took the opportunity to defend her initial decision to send Grace to juvenile detention at a moment when, due to COVID-19, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had ordered the courts to cease any kind of detention or residential placement for young people unless they posed “a substantial and immediate safety risk to others.”

“She was not detained because she didn’t turn her homework in,” Brennan said. “She was detained because I found her to be a threat of harm to her mother based on everything I knew.”

Here Are the People Who Lost Millions Backing Musk's Twitter Takeover

'black myth: wukong' is a hit. but why is the game so controversial, trump has multi-platform meltdown for the ages over harris’ dnc speech, did uncommitted get more than it was asking for.

However, none of these incidents, nor any new ones, were mentioned in the violation Grace’s probation officer submitted. Additionally, Grace’s mother has said she mentioned her daughter’s failure to complete her homework out of frustration, and has gone on to say that she believes Grace — who has ADHD — needed more time to adjust to remote learning.

Following the hearing, Biernat told reporters that he plans to appeal the decision. The Michigan Supreme Court’s oversight agency has also launched a review of the case.

Cops Who Falsified Warrant Used in Breonna Taylor Raid Didn't Cause Her Death, Judge Rules

• Courts and Crime

Meet the Nigerian Creators Going Global

• By Mankaprr Conteh

'Black Myth: Wukong' Is a Hit. But Why Is the Game So Controversial?

• By Diego Argüello

Here Are the People Who Lost Millions Backing Musk's Twitter Takeover

• By Miles Klee

Cristiano Ronaldo Breaks YouTube Record With New Channel

• By CT Jones

Most Popular

Channing tatum says gambit accent was supposed to be 'unintelligible' at times and he was 'too scared to ask' marvel for the costume to bring home, rob schneider says people "yelling," walking out of his comedy shows means he's "doing it right", sources reveal why taylor swift’s romance with travis kelce is nothing like she’s ‘ever experienced before', ashanti shares sentimental reason behind her son's name, admits it was nelly's idea, you might also like, drew barrymore says she will ‘try to practice physical distance’ with her talk show guests: ‘not my strong point’, betty halbreich, bergdorf’s legendary personal shopper, dies at 96, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, naomi ackie deleted her instagram after being cast in ‘star wars’ to avoid potential ‘racist’ backlash, most valuable nfl teams 2024: cowboys first to top $10 billion.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

• Newsletters
• Help Center
• Metro Atlanta
• Georgia News
• Legislature
• National & World News
• 2024 Election
• The Trump Investigations

Girl, 15, sentenced to juvenile lockup for not doing schoolwork

Credit: Social media photo

A 15-year-old Black girl in Michigan has been locked up in juvenile detention for more than two months after a judge ruled she violated probation by not completing her online schoolwork, according to an exclusive report by ProPublica .

The girl, who is named Grace in ProPublica’s report , has been jailed since May 15 and was ordered in early June to remain in the Children’s Village juvenile detention center in suburban Detroit pending a hearing to review the case Sept. 8.

The girl had initially gotten into trouble in April for a fight with her mother, Charisse, and for stealing.

Grace was subsequently charged with assault and theft. After an April 21 hearing, she was placed on probation.

For the homework infraction, Judge Mary Ellen Brennan called Grace a threat to the community and sentenced her on May 15 to the Children’s Village juvenile detention center, although the teen had not committed another crime.

The girl has been locked up since.

In Brennan’s ruling, she found Grace “guilty on failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school” and called Grace a “threat to (the) community,” citing the assault and theft charges that led to her probation.

“She hasn’t fulfilled the expectation with regard to school performance,” Brennan reportedly said as she sentenced Grace. “I told her she was on thin ice, and I told her that I was going to hold her to the letter, to the order, of the probation.”

The sentence was handed down as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer encouraged the state’s juvenile judges to send children home due to the pandemic.

In March, Whitmer issued an executive order that temporarily suspended the confinement of juveniles who violate probation unless directed by a court order. The order also recommended eliminating any form of detention or residential placement unless a young person posed a “substantial and immediate safety risk to others,” ProPublica reported . The order was extended until late May.

The Michigan Supreme Court also ordered juvenile judges to determine which young offenders could be returned home.

During the sentencing in the Oakland County Family Court Division, caseworkers also recommended mental health and anger management treatment. The prosecutor agreed, and Grace’s court-appointed attorney asked for probation because she had committed no new offenses and because of the risk of coronavirus.

Instead, Grace was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

ProPublica, an independent nonprofit investigative news outlet in New York City, used middle names for the teenager and her mother in the report to protect their identities.

Brennan declined to comment.

By mid-June, Grace had been in the lockup for more than a month when her mother visited.

At the time, Charisse said she wasn’t allowed in to see Grace, and officials sent the mother away with a shopping bag full of clothes and toiletries she delivered to her teen daughter days earlier. The items had been rejected because they violated facility rules, according to ProPublica.

On the drive home, Charisse said after she left the facility, she pulled into a nearby parking lot and cried.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she told ProPublica. “Every day I go to bed thinking, and wake up thinking, ‘How is this a better situation for her?’”

ProPublica was unable to determine how many other children might be in a similar situation as Grace because of the confidentiality that shrouds juvenile cases.

Attorneys and civil rights advocates told ProPublica the judge’s ruling disregarded their calls for leniency and failed to prioritize the health and safety of children amid an ongoing national health crisis.

They were also unaware of any other recent case nationally in which a child had been detained for failing to meet academic standards.

There has also been a steep decline in juvenile detentions nationwide in recent months due to the outbreak, according to the report.

“In many places, juvenile courts have attempted to keep children out of detention except in the most serious cases, and they have worked to release those who were already there,” ProPublica reported, citing experts.

ProPublica cited several other school districts in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Chicago that have documented tens of thousands of students who failed to log in or complete coursework, but without the consequence of juvenile detention.

Legal experts are now pointing to the case as a quintessential example of systemic racism.

Grace’s school, in the city’s predominantly white Beverly Hills community, moved to remote learning on April 15 as schools across the nation locked down for the remainder of the academic year because of the pandemic.

Grace also has an educational disability, ADHD, and without the structure of the classroom she struggled to stay motivated and found herself often distracted, ProPublica reported.

“I just needed time to adjust to the schedule that my mom had prepared for me,” she said on the day she was sentenced to detention.

“Who can even be a good student right now?” said Ricky Watson Jr., executive director of the National Juvenile Justice Network, according to ProPublica. “Unless there is an urgent need, I don’t understand why you would be sending a kid to any facility right now and taking them away from their families with all that we are dealing with right now.”

ProPublica found that a disproportionate percentage of Black youth who live in the same county as Grace are also caught in the juvenile justice system.

Grace’s mother has made at least three other recent visits to the facility, ProPublica reported.

In early June, she saw her daughter on screen as she walked into a court hearing handcuffed and with her ankles shackled.

“For us and our culture, that for me was the knife stuck in my stomach and turning,” Charisse told ProPublica. “That is our history, being shackled. And she didn’t deserve that.”

During the proceeding, Grace and her mother pleaded with the judge to return her home. “I will be respectful and obedient to my mom and all other people with authority,” Grace said. “I beg for your mercy to return me home to my mom and my responsibilities.”

The judge, however, ruled that Grace should stay at the Children’s Village not as punishment but to get treatment and services.

About the Author

ArLuther Lee is a visual editor and occasionally covers national and world news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from The University of Florida and has been a journalist for more than 25 years.

Credit: Michael Blackshire

Credit: Jason Getz

Credit: TNS

Credit: Joe Kovac Jr.

• The Inventory
• Entertainment
• The Culture
• Beauty + Style

Judge Denies Release for 15-Year-Old Detained for Not Doing Homework

It’s truly disheartening how quickly the American judicial system works to lock Black youth up. If you had any skepticism about how efficiently the school-to-prison pipeline works, the case of a 15-year-old girl in Michigan who was sent to juvenile detention for not doing her homework should quickly dispel it. Her case has generated national outrage and protests, and a ruling by a judge on Monday probably isn’t going to change that.

Suggested Reading

ProPublica reports   Judge Mary Brennan has denied the 15-year-old, known only as “Grace,” her release. Brennan did so despite arguments from the child’s attorneys that the therapy and education she is getting is subpar and a letter from the prosecutor advocating for her release. Grace’s caseworker at Children’s Village, where she is currently being held, recommended Grace should be kept at the facility until she completes its months-long program. Grace is currently at the second of five stages in the program and completing it would take another three and a half months.

Related Content

Over the course of the two- hour hearing, Brennan spent about 45 minutes outlining Grace’s prior history and her relationship with her mother, as well as pushing back against the notion that she sent Grace away because she didn’t do her homework.

Last year, Grace was charged with assault and theft for getting into a physical altercation with her mother and stealing another student’s phone. She was placed on probation in April of this year and one of her requirements was to complete all of her schoolwork. Grace, who has ADHD and receives special education, struggled with the transition to virtual instruction as a result of schools closing due to the pandemic. Her probation officer filed a violation against her in early May. Brennan found Grace guilty of violating her probation by “failure to submit any schoolwork and getting up for school,” and ordered her to be detained. She believed Grace to be a “threat to (the) community,” due to her prior charges.

From ProPublica:

At Monday’s hearing, Grace’s case coordinator at Children’s Village and the judge, reading from the caseworker’s report, said the girl has behaved well and has been engaged with the treatment program. She has met all the goals, was the “star resident” one week this month and is currently at the second of five stages in the program. Each stage takes about a month to complete, the case coordinator said, and she recommended that Grace complete the program. That would take another three and a half months, she said. The court caseworker also recommended that Grace stay in the program. “They have made significant progress,” the caseworker, Ashley Bishop, said. “In speaking with mom, she reports they have been able to communicate much better, (Grace) is more self-aware, she is more serious, she is more thoughtful.” “When I read this report, this is as good as it gets. ... This is excellent. She is on point, she is doing well, she is engaged,” Brennan said. She later said, “The worst thing I can do is say you are doing great, now let’s get you home and watch the whole thing blow up.”

Grace felt this assessment was unfair and didn’t fairly weigh her good behavior. “I know I can control myself. … That altercation should not be defining who I should be now,” she said, adding: “I can be respectful. I can be obedient. I feel like that is being completely disregarded, no offense,” she said.

Grace and her attorneys argued that the level of education she has been receiving at the facility are inadequate. “I am getting behind in my actual schooling while here. The schooling here is beneath my level of education,” she said. “And I know you may not seem to think this is a punishment, but in my heart, I feel the aching and the loss as if it were a punishment.”

Brennan felt that it wasn’t smart to send Grace back home because of her  prior history of domestic violence and the pandemic keeping people predominantly at home. “She was not detained because she didn’t turn her homework in,” Brennan said. “She was detained because I found her to be a threat of harm to her mother based on everything I knew.” Grace’s mother told the judge during the original violation hearing that the two have not had an altercation during the probation period and that there has not been an incident since the assault charge in November.

As she issued the decision to keep Grace detained, Brennan, who seemingly believes she’s Hillary Swank in Freedom Writers, told Grace to “give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something.” Jonathan Biernat, Grace’s attorney, plans to appeal the decision. “We want her back at home with her mother,” he said.

It’s mind boggling that, considering all of the circumstances that factor into Grace’s violation, that Brennan both saw it fit to detain her and to double down on that decision. She is a child with a learning disability. The pandemic has completely disrupted things for both students and teachers and instead of trying to find a way to truly help Grace, the judge detained her. How is punishing someone for struggling being helpful? What lesson does the judge think she is teaching her?

At the end of the hearing Grace and her mother Charisse held each other for a minute, the first time they’ve been able to have physical contact through the pandemic, ProPublica reports . Charisse told Grace to, “stay strong.”

“I can’t,” Grace replied.

ABC News Exclusive: Teen sent to juvenile detention for not doing homework speaks out

Abc news’ linsey davis speaks exclusively with “grace,” a black teenager with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who was sent to juvenile detention for not doing her homework., july 8, 2021, what’s next for russia, what comes next after texas school shooting, what's next for abortion rights in america, the new battle for voting rights, how we can build a clean and renewable future, the fight for kyiv, examining extremism in the military, gun violence: an american epidemic, border crisis: what’s happening at the us-mexico border, remembering george floyd: a year of protest, the source of covid-19: what we know, how did the gamestop stock spike on wall street happen, why are people hesitant to trust a covid-19 vaccine, how climate change and forest management make wildfires harder to contain, disparity in police response: black lives matter protests and capitol riot, 2020 in review: a year unlike any other, examined: how putin keeps power, why don’t the electoral college and popular vote always match up, us crosses 250,000 coronavirus deaths, 2nd impeachment trial: what this could mean for trump, presidential transition of power: examined, how donald trump spent his last days as president, how joe biden's inauguration will be different from previous years, belarus’ ongoing protests: examined, trump challenges the vote and takes legal action, 2020’s dnc and rnc are different than any before, what is happening with the usps, voting in 2020 during covid-19, disinformation in 2020, abc news specials on, impact x nightline: on the brink, impact x nightline: unboxing shein, the lady bird diaries, impact x nightline: it's britney, impact x nightline: natalee holloway -- a killer confesses, impact x nightline: who shot tupac, impact x nightline, power trip: those who seek power and those who chase them, the murders before the marathon, the ivana trump story: the first wife, mormon no more, leave no trace: a hidden history of the boy scouts, keeper of the ashes: the oklahoma girl scout murders, the orphans of covid: america's hidden toll, superstar: patrick swayze, the kardashians -- an abc news special, 24 months that changed the world, have you seen this man.

Review Ordered After Michigan Judge Sends Black Teen to Juvenile Detention for Skipping Online Schoolwork

A Michigan judge has sparked backlash after a new report found she sentenced a Black teenager to a juvenile detention facility for a probation violation. The violation? That the teen had not been completing online assignments as her school shifted to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The student, a 15-year-old Black girl identified as Grace, has ADHD. Grace said she had struggled to adjust and to keep up with her schoolwork after beginning remote learning in April, according to the report , co-published on Tuesday by ProPublica and the Detroit Free Press . Disruptions to students’ education caused by school closures across the U.S. has been widely reported, especially as access to high-speed Internet at home is not evenly distributed throughout the country. (Limited at-home educational resources, parental oversight and the potential lack of a suitable learning environment are also factors impacting students’ experiences.)

Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, who presides over the Oakland County Family Court Division, ruled in May that Grace had broken the terms of her probation — which stemmed from a prior fight with her mother, and a charge of larceny after she was caught stealing another student’s cellphone at school — by not doing her homework. Brennan, who is white, ordered that Grace be sent to the county’s juvenile detention center, Children’s Village. According to ProPublica, Grace is required to remain at the detention center until a hearing to review the case set for Sept. 8.

“I told her she was on thin ice and I told her that I was going to hold her to the letter, to the order, of the probation,” Brennan said during Grace’s sentencing. Brennan also called Grace a “threat to the community.”

Her ruling came despite an executive order issued in March from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which called for the elimination of juvenile detention to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus unless an individual was a “substantial and immediate safety risk to others.”

Brennan could not immediately be reached for comment.

Grace’s mother, identified in the report as Charisse, said her visits with Grace since her incarceration have been limited. She described the deep pain of seeing her daughter’s ankles shackled and wrists bound in handcuffs at the detention facility. “For me and our culture, that for me was the knife stuck in my stomach and turning,” Charisse told ProPublica. “That is our history, being shackled. And she didn’t deserve that.”

An analysis of 4,800 cases that were referred to the Oakland County Circuit Court from January 2016 to June 2020 found that 42% involved young Black people, despite Black youth only making up 15% of the county’s population.

During the hearing to decide whether she violated her probation, Grace acknowledged that attending school online was difficult, but said it was something she could work toward improving. “I just needed time to adjust to the schedule that my mom had prepared for me,” she explained.

Amid growing outrage following the report’s publication — and calls from people online that Brennan be fired specifically — Oakland County Executive David Coulter on Tuesday evening asked the court to review Grace’s case again.

“While there are many more details that she is unable to share with me and the public to protect privacy of the minor and their family, I believe a review of this case within her court or during an appellate process is required,” Coulter said in a statement, noting that he had spoken with Brennan about her ruling. “It has been a top priority of my administration to keep the young people and employees safe at Children’s Village during the pandemic and that includes limiting residency to immediate safety risks.”

More Must-Reads from TIME

• Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
• Heman Bekele Is TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year
• The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris
• What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
• A Battle Over Fertility Law in China
• The 1 Heart-Health Habit You Should Start When You’re Young
• Cuddling Might Help You Get Better Sleep
• The 50 Best Romance Novels to Read Right Now

Write to Mahita Gajanan at [email protected]

• Updated Terms of Use
• New Privacy Policy
• Your Privacy Choices
• Closed Caption Policy
• Accessibility Statement

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Legal Statement . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper .

Michigan girl sent to juvenile detention for not doing online schoolwork: report

The 15-year-old girl has been in custody at a detroit area juvenile detention center since may.

Fox News Flash top headlines for July 14

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

A Michigan girl was incarcerated in May after she allegedly failed to finish her online schoolwork , according to a report.

The 15-year-old girl, identified as Grace, has been in custody at a Detroit area juvenile detention center for roughly two months now after a judge ruled she violated her probation by not completing online coursework amid the coronavirus pandemic , reports said.

Grace has ADHD, a learning disorder that she said caused her to feel unmotivated and overwhelmed while online learning, according to the ProPublica report on Tuesday.

“Who can even be a good student right now?” said Ricky Watson Jr., executive director of the National Juvenile Justice Network. “Unless there is an urgent need, I don’t understand why you would be sending a kid to any facility right now and taking them away from their families with all that we are dealing with right now.”

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR EXTENDS EMERGENCY DECLARATION THROUGH MID-AUGUST AMID SURGE IN CORONAVIRUS CASES

Grace, the girl's middle name, was previously placed on probation after an alleged fight with her mother and for thefts at school, thee report said. Police have been called to the family's home in the past.

Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, the presiding judge of the Oakland County Family Court Division, ruled that Grace was “guilty on failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school.” She also called Grace a “threat to (the) community," the report said.

“She hasn’t fulfilled the expectation with regard to school performance,” Brennan said as she sentenced Grace. “I told her she was on thin ice and I told her that I was going to hold her to the letter, to the order, of the probation.”

Rachel Giroux, Grace's caseworker, allegedly filled a violation of probation to have Grace detained before confirming if the teenager had been meeting her academic requirements, according to ProPublica . She then emailed Grace's teacher, Katherine Tarpeh, who said she was “not out of alignment with most of my other students.”

“Let me be clear that this is no one’s fault because we did not see this unprecedented global pandemic coming,” Tarpeh wrote, adding that Grace "has a strong desire to do well."

In March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order temporarily suspending the confinement of juveniles who violate probation unless directed by a court order. The order also encouraged eliminating any form of detention unless they posed a “substantial and immediate safety risk to others.”

ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION WANTS SCHOOLS TO REOPEN, NO SOCIAL DISTANCING: REPORT

A hearing to review the case is scheduled for Sept. 8. Until then, the judge ordered Grace to remain at Children's Village juvenile detention center.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” said Grace's mother, identified by ProPublica as Charisse. “Every day I go to bed thinking, and wake up thinking, ‘How is this a better situation for her?’”

A few days after Grace was handcuffed in the courtroom and sent to the juvenile detention center, Charisse said she received a letter from her daughter.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

“I want to change. I want to be a better person," the letter said, according to ProPublica. "Here I’ve realized how much you care and love me. I’m sorry I took that for granted. Please continue to send me pictures of me and you or just with anyone. I love you mommy and I miss you.”

The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.

By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use , and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.

You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!

Watch CBS News

Court orders release of Michigan teen detained for not doing schoolwork

By Victoria Albert

July 31, 2020 / 10:57 PM EDT / CBS News

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ordered the immediate release of a 15-year-old Black girl who was detained in May for not doing her schoolwork. The teen's case, first reported by ProPublica , gained national attention and drew condemnation from education and juvenile justice advocates.    "The emergency motion for immediate release is GRANTED, and the juvenile respondent is ordered immediately released from detention to the custody of her mother pending appeal or further order of this Court," Judge Deborah A. Servitto wrote in the Friday order. 

In April of this year, "Grace" — the name given to the teen by ProPublica — was facing larceny and assault charges stemming from physical altercations with her mother and a theft at school, the outlet reported. 

During a hearing on April 21, Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan allowed Grace to stay out of detention, citing the coronavirus pandemic . But Brennan warned her that she was under "intensive probation" that required her, among other responsibilities, to complete her schoolwork. 

After remote schooling began, Grace — who has ADHD and a mood disorder — struggled to keep up with her schoolwork, according to ProPublica. When Grace's case worker reported she was violating her probation, Brennan sent her to detention. 

On July 20, Brennan denied Grace's petition for early release. 

"This is not an easy decision to make," Brennan said at the teen's hearing. "How many times does she get to jump her mom before you think that she's a threat of harm to her mom? How many times?" 

Although Grace told Brennan that "I believe that this challenge has specifically brought my mother and I finally back together," Brennan told the teen, "You're exactly where you're supposed to be."

"You're blooming there, but there's more work to be done," she added. 

Jason Smith, a director with the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, told "CBS This Morning" after the petition was denied that Grace needed support, not punishment.

"It's frustrating that instead of trying to figure out a way that she can get additional support ... the first step that the judge took was to incarcerate her," Smith said.

The court defended Brennan's decision, saying in part "these decisions do not reflect one event or one bit of information, but rather an extensive review of a juvenile's case file."

Grace's case has drawn national condemnation from advocates who said it's unfair to incarcerate a teen who, like many other students, is struggling with school during unprecedented times. Advocates also cited the risk of incarcerating her during a global pandemic, especially after "the state gave clear directives that children, and all people, unless it was a dire emergency, were to be kept out of detention," Kristen Staley, co-director of the Midwest Juvenile Defender Center, told ProPublica. 

If Grace had not been released, she would have spent about three more months in detention. 

Adriana Diaz contributed reporting.   

Victoria Albert is a Sr. News Editor at CBS News. Reach her at [email protected]

More from CBS News

Supreme Court partially revives Arizona voter proof-of-citizenship requirement

Another ex-Memphis police officer pleads guilty in Tyre Nichols killing

Justin and Hailey Bieber welcome their first child

More free COVID-19 tests can be ordered through mail, government says

Michigan Proposes Juvenile Justice Reforms After Story of Teen Locked Up for Missing Homework Exposed Gaps in System

The story of grace, the michigan teen detained for not doing her online schoolwork during the pandemic, has prompted a series of juvenile justice reforms., series: grace: a failure in michigan’s juvenile justice system.

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches , a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.

A Michigan task force Friday recommended a series of reforms designed to keep young people out of detention facilities and provide them with better legal representation and more community help, such as family counseling and mental health treatment.

Created after a ProPublica investigation revealed systemic flaws in Michigan’s juvenile justice system , the task force made 32 recommendations that aim to transform what happens when young people get in trouble with the law, including by keeping low-level offenses out of the courts and limiting when children can be detained. Other proposed changes would eliminate most fines and fees charged by juvenile courts and provide more oversight of residential facilities.

“The recommendations, if implemented, will be transformative to the justice system,” said Jason Smith, executive director of the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, an advocacy group. “It would expand the opportunities for alternatives to justice system involvement in the first place, increase transparency within the system with increased data and improve outcomes for young people.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer created the Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform in June 2021 to analyze state and local data and gather individuals from across the state who have insight into the system. The task force’s goal was to try to understand why Michigan incarcerates so many young people for noncriminal offenses — and suggest ways to reduce the number. The task force was led by the nonprofit Council of State Governments and included the lieutenant governor, judges, court officials and families affected by the justice system.

The creation of the panel came after a series of ProPublica stories about a 15-year-old who had been incarcerated for a probation violation when she failed to do her online schoolwork at the start of the pandemic. The reporting about the teenager identified as Grace, her middle name, put a national spotlight on how Michigan children are regularly detained for probation violations and other noncriminal offenses — even as many states have moved away from that practice.

ProPublica also revealed broader flaws in Michigan’s decentralized juvenile justice system , including such poor data that the state can’t say how many juveniles it has in custody at any given time or why they have been detained.

“I feel like Grace’s situation and the story really helped us get the momentum to get this started,” Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement said in an interview this week. “It opened a lot of people’s eyes. … Sometimes people are unaware they have a broken system. Sometimes they know and they just are not sure what to do.”

Before Grace’s case drew national attention, Michigan leaders had been focused on reforming the adult criminal justice and child welfare systems. Juvenile justice had been less of a priority.

Many of the task force’s recommendations require changes in state law and additional funding.

Rep. Sarah Lightner, a Republican from Springport and a task force member, started that process this week when she introduced two bills intended to ensure young people have access to attorneys trained in juvenile matters. One bill would expand the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission to include the oversight and training of lawyers who represent juveniles and to ensure that young people have an attorney at every stage of their case. Another measure would expand the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office to include services for juveniles who want to appeal their cases. There are currently no state standards in place or specialized training available for lawyers representing juveniles and no state funding for juvenile defense.

“There is no question it will take an additional investment to make sure attorneys are educated and the courts are educated on juvenile issues,” Lightner said in an interview.

Michigan has long struggled to assess its juvenile justice system because it gathers limited data from its local courts, and that data is not captured in a standardized way. Data obtained by the task force from 32 counties , representing about 55% of the juvenile population, found that about 23% of cases referred to court by prosecutors were for a type of noncriminal offense that includes truancy, running away and incorrigibility. These “status offenses” are only punishable because the person is a minor. Another 26% of cases were for low-level misdemeanor offenses. Nearly 12% involved children 12 and under.

Data shared with the task force also showed that, in a sample of eight county courts, the average age of young people in secure detention — the most restrictive form of juvenile confinement — was 14 and that Black youth were detained at six times the rate of white youth. The panel recommended that the state collect and share data from the local courts, and use it to create a dashboard that tracks and measures disparities in the justice system.

The task force’s proposals aim to keep many of those young people out of the court system altogether. Except for the most serious offenses, the state’s juvenile courts would only be for children 13 and up if state law is changed; there’s currently no minimum age. Juveniles who commit status offenses and are determined to be low risk would be diverted to community programs instead of having to go through the court system.

“We want to keep kids out of detention, We want to keep them out of residential placements and we really want to keep them out of the court if we can,” Clement said. “We are hoping we see a drastic change in our numbers.”

To encourage that change, one proposal would provide more state funding for community-based services — such as family counseling, mental health support and substance abuse treatment — than for detention and residential placements. Under the current system, the state’s Child Care Fund Unit reimburses counties 50% for all services. The task force proposed increasing the reimbursement for community-based services to 75%, which would require millions of dollars a year in additional state funding.

The panel also recommended that the state create a juvenile services division to develop standardized assessments so officials can match youth with the level of supervision they need. Michigan currently does not have a recommended assessment tool, and its decentralized court system means treatment for children can vary depending on where they live.

“That has led to some good practices in Michigan and some inconsistent and uneven and not research-based practices,” said Josh Weber, who directs the juvenile justice program at the Council of State Governments and worked with the task force.

Cole Williams, a task force member who provides counseling and support to families involved in the court system in the Grand Rapids area, said he’s glad that one recommendation would establish an advisory group of young people and families so they can help guide the justice system’s decisions. He also said that onerous fines and fees are a “constant conversation and challenge,” and eliminating them would be a game changer for families.

“We have a long way to go in Michigan when it comes to how we support our children,” said Williams, who experienced the challenges of the justice system when his son was involved in it. “The recommendations proposed are a step in the right direction.”

New Louisiana Law Serves as a Warning to Bystanders Who Film Police: Stay Away or Face Arrest

Louisiana is the fourth state to enact a so-called police buffer law, which allows officers to order people to keep their distance. Journalists say the law will make it harder to document when police use excessive force.

by Richard A. Webster , Verite News , July 31, 4 p.m. EDT

Local Reporting Network

A Judge Ruled a Louisiana Prison’s Health Care System Has Failed Inmates for Decades. A Federal Law Could Block Reforms.

The Prison Litigation Reform Act was passed to curtail the number of lawsuits filed by inmates over conditions behind bars. It has kept courts from forcing Louisiana to overhaul the medical system in its largest prison.

by Richard A. Webster , Verite News , July 25, 5 a.m. EDT

He Was Convicted of Killing His Baby. The DA’s Office Says He’s Innocent, but That Might Not Be Enough.

When new scientific evidence casts doubt on convictions, the justice system has no easy path to freedom — even when it’s the prosecutors doing the asking.

by Pamela Colloff , photography by Stacy Kranitz , July 11, 5 a.m. EDT

The NYPD Commissioner Responded to Our Story That Revealed He’s Burying Police Brutality Cases. We Fact-Check Him.

In his five-page statement, Commissioner Edward Caban identified no inaccuracies in ProPublica's investigation but instead argued the story was unfair and that he’s “in compliance” with the guidelines. Our reporting shows otherwise.

by Eric Umansky , July 3, 4:35 p.m. EDT

Utah OB-GYN David Broadbent Charged With Forcible Sexual Abuse

More than 100 women have publicly accused the doctor of touching them inappropriately, but this is the first time he has faced a criminal charge.

by Jessica Miller , The Salt Lake Tribune , June 29, 5 a.m. EDT

New Yorkers Were Choked, Beaten and Tased by NYPD Officers. The Commissioner Buried Their Cases.

New York City’s Police Commissioner Edward Caban has repeatedly used a little-known authority called “retention” to prevent officers accused of misconduct from facing public disciplinary trials. Victims are never told their cases have been buried.

by Eric Umansky , June 27, 5 a.m. EDT

Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia

Rounding up migrants. Lists of “friendly” sheriffs. Debating political assassinations. Internal messages reveal AP3's journey from Jan. 6 through the tumultuous lead-up to the 2024 election. One member predicts: “It’ll be decided at the ammo box.”

by Joshua Kaplan , Aug. 17, 6 a.m. EDT

Election Deniers Secretly Pushed Rule That Would Make It Easier to Delay Certification of Georgia’s Election Results

On Monday, the GOP-controlled State Election Board is poised to adopt the rule, which would potentially allow county officials, including one who secretly backed the rule, to throw the election results of the swing state into chaos this fall.

by Doug Bock Clark , Aug. 18, 3 p.m. EDT

Missouri Outlawed Abortion, and Now It’s Funding an Anti-Abortion Group That Works in Other States

With millions in expanded tax credits and direct state funding going to anti-abortion groups, the nonprofit Coalition Life has expanded its operations beyond Missouri and into states where the procedure is still legal.

by Jeremy Kohler , Aug. 19, 5 a.m. EDT

Trump Built a National Debt So Big That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years

The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.

by Allan Sloan , ProPublica, and Cezary Podkul for ProPublica , Jan. 14, 2021, 5 a.m. EST

School Vouchers Were Supposed to Save Taxpayer Money. Instead They Blew a Massive Hole in Arizona’s Budget.

Arizona, the model for voucher programs across the country, has spent so much money paying private schoolers’ tuition that it’s now facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts to critical state programs and projects.

by Eli Hager , July 16, 6 a.m. EDT

Republish This Story for Free

Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Thank you for your interest in republishing this story. You are free to republish it so long as you do the following:

• You have to credit ProPublica and any co-reporting partners . In the byline, we prefer “Author Name, Publication(s).” At the top of the text of your story, include a line that reads: “This story was originally published by ProPublica.” You must link the word “ProPublica” to the original URL of the story.
• If you’re republishing online, you must link to the URL of this story on propublica.org, include all of the links from our story, including our newsletter sign up language and link, and use our PixelPing tag .
• If you use canonical metadata, please use the ProPublica URL. For more information about canonical metadata, refer to this Google SEO link .
• You can’t edit our material, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. (For example, “yesterday” can be changed to “last week,” and “Portland, Ore.” to “Portland” or “here.”)
• You cannot republish our photographs or illustrations without specific permission. Please contact [email protected] .
• It’s okay to put our stories on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. You can’t state or imply that donations to your organization support ProPublica’s work.
• You can’t sell our material separately or syndicate it. This includes publishing or syndicating our work on platforms or apps such as Apple News, Google News, etc.
• You can’t republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually. (To inquire about syndication or licensing opportunities, contact [email protected] .)
• You can’t use our work to populate a website designed to improve rankings on search engines or solely to gain revenue from network-based advertisements.
• We do not generally permit translation of our stories into another language.
• Any website our stories appear on must include a prominent and effective way to contact you.
• If you share republished stories on social media, we’d appreciate being tagged in your posts. We have official accounts for ProPublica on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram .

A Black teen didn't do her online schoolwork during the pandemic. A judge sent her to juvenile detention.

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .

This story was co-published with the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Magazine.

• Grace, 15, was sentenced to juvenile detention in May for not completing her school work, which was deemed a violation of her probation.
• The Michigan teenager was put on probation in November after stealing a cell phone and getting into an altercation with her mother.
• Grace, a student with special needs, said she needed "time to adjust" to the virtual education model.
• In March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order discouraging the sentencing of young people unless they posed a "substantial and immediate safety risk."

PONTIAC, Mich. — One afternoon in mid-June, Charisse* drove up to the checkpoint at the Children's Village juvenile detention center in suburban Detroit, desperate to be near her daughter. It had been a month since she had last seen her, when a judge found the girl had violated probation and sent her to the facility during the pandemic.</p><p>The girl, Grace, hadn't broken the law again. The 15-year-old wasn't in trouble for fighting with her mother or stealing, the issues that had gotten her placed on probation in the first place.</p><p>She was incarcerated in May for violating her probation by not completing her online coursework when her school in Beverly Hills switched to remote learning.</p><p>

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js" async="true"></script>

Because of the confidentiality of juvenile court cases, it's impossible to determine how unusual Grace's situation is. But attorneys and advocates in Michigan and elsewhere say they are unaware of any other case involving the detention of a child for failing to meet academic requirements after schools closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.</p><p>The decision, they say, flies in the face of recommendations from the legal and education communities that have urged leniency and a prioritization of children's health and safety amid the crisis. The case may also reflect, some experts and Grace's mother believe, systemic racial bias. Grace is Black in a predominantly white community and in a county where a disproportionate percentage of Black youth are involved with the juvenile justice system.</p><p>Across the country, teachers, parents and students have struggled with the upheaval caused by monthslong school closures.

Thousands of US students failed to complete their assignments while schools were closed

School districts have documented tens of thousands of students who failed to log in or complete their schoolwork: 15,000 high school students in <a href=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-30/coronavirus-los-angeles-schools-15000-high-school-students-absent>Los Angeles</a>, one-third of the students in <a href=https://www.twincities.com/2020/04/19/coronavirus-twin-cities-schools-widespread-absences-distance-learning/>Minneapolis Public Schools</a> and about a quarter of <a href=https://news.wttw.com/2020/05/27/cps-more-3-4-students-participating-remote-learning-online>Chicago Public Schools students</a>.</p><p>Students with special needs are especially vulnerable without the face-to-face guidance from teachers, social workers and others. Grace, who has ADHD, said she felt unmotivated and overwhelmed when online learning began April 15, about a month after schools closed. Without much live instruction or structure, she got easily distracted and had difficulty keeping herself on track, she said.</p><p></p><p>"Who can even be a good student right now?" said Ricky Watson Jr., executive director of the National Juvenile Justice Network. "Unless there is an urgent need, I don't understand why you would be sending a kid to any facility right now and taking them away from their families with all that we are dealing with right now."</p>

Juvenilie courts have been trying to keep children out of detention during the pandemic

<p>In many places, juvenile courts have attempted to keep children out of detention except in the most serious cases, and they have worked to release those who were already there, experts say. A <a href=https://www.aecf.org/blog/at-onset-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-dramatic-and-rapid-reductions-in-youth-de/>survey</a> of juvenile justice agencies in 30 states found that the number of youths in secure detention fell by 24% in March, largely due to a steep decline in placements.</p><p>In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in March that temporarily suspended the confinement of juveniles who violate probation unless directed by a court order and encouraged eliminating any form of detention or residential placement unless a young person posed a "substantial and immediate safety risk to others." Acting on Whitmer's order, which was extended until late May, the Michigan Supreme Court told juvenile court judges to determine which juveniles could be returned home.</p><p>Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, the presiding judge of the Oakland County Family Court Division, declined through a court administrator to comment on Grace's case.

Grace, 15, was sentenced to juvenile detention for not completing her school work 

In her ruling, she found Grace "guilty on failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school" and called Grace a "threat to (the) community," citing the assault and theft charges that led to her probation.</p><p>"She hasn't fulfilled the expectation with regard to school performance," Brennan said as she sentenced Grace. "I told her she was on thin ice and I told her that I was going to hold her to the letter, to the order, of the probation."</p><p>That June afternoon, a month after the sentencing, Charisse left Children's Village without seeing Grace, but she did pick up a shopping bag of clothes and toiletries she had delivered days earlier. She said officials had rejected them because they violated facility rules: underwear that wasn't briefs; face wipes that contained alcohol; a pair of jeans deemed too tight.</p><p>Charisse counts each day they're apart, and that was day No. 33. Another month has since passed, and there could still be months to go before they are at home together again.</p><p>Driving home, Charisse had to pull over soon after she turned onto the road leading away from the complex. She sat in a parking lot, sobbing.</p><p>"It just doesn't make any sense," she said. She shook her head as tears dampened the disposable blue face mask pulled down to her chin.</p><p>"Every day I go to bed thinking, and wake up thinking, 'How is this a better situation for her?'"</p><p>It has always been just the two of them, Charisse and Grace.</p><p>Told by doctors that she would be unable to have children, Charisse, a consultant to nonprofit organizations, was shocked when she became pregnant at 44. She has raised Grace on her own after the girl's father did not want to be involved, she said.</p><p>They did everything together: winter sports throughout Michigan, rounds of golf, going to the opera, singing to Tony Bennett on road trips. They even appeared in a "Pure Michigan" tourism ad. As a child, Grace wanted so much to be like her mother that she asked to be called Charisse No. 2.</p><p>When Grace hit her preteen years, however, their relationship became rocky. They argued about Grace keeping her room clean and doing schoolwork and regularly battled over her use of the phone, social media and other technology.</p><p>By the time Grace turned 13, the arguments had escalated to the point that Charisse turned to the police for help several times when Grace yelled at or pushed her. She said she didn't know about other social services to call instead. In one incident, they argued over Grace taking her mother's iPhone charger; when police arrived, they discovered she had taken an iPad from her middle school without permission. At her mother's request, Grace entered a court diversion program in 2018 for "incorrigibility" and agreed to participate in counseling and not use electronic devices. She was released from the program early, her mother said.</p><p></p>

Grace is involved in her church and played saxophone in the school band

<p>While there was periodic family conflict, Grace has always had strong friendships and is active in her school and community, her mother said. She has helped run programs at church, played saxophone in the school band and composed music, and regularly participated in service projects.</p><p>The incident that led to her current situation happened Nov. 6, when someone called the police after hearing Charisse crying "Help me!" and honking her car's horn. Grace, upset she couldn't go to a friend's house, had reached inside the car to try to get her mother's phone and had bitten her mother's finger and pulled her hair, according to the police report.</p><p>Police released Grace to a family friend to let the two cool down and referred the case to Oakland County court, where an assault charge was filed against her.</p><p>Weeks later, she picked up another charge, for larceny, after she was caught on surveillance video stealing another student's cellphone from a school locker room.</p><p>"After I was caught, I felt instant remorse and guilt. I wanted to take back everything I had done," Grace wrote in a statement to police. She said she had questioned herself even as she took the phone but wanted one after her mother took hers away.</p><p>The other student's mother, who declined to comment for this story, told police she wanted to press charges, although the phone had been returned to her son soon after Grace took it. "My sincere hope is that any punitive action taken in this case be grounded in the goal of providing this student with opportunities for growth, change and future success," she wrote in a statement to police.</p>

After getting charged with assault and larceny in November, Grace participated in a therapy program

<p>In the months following the two incidents, Grace and her mother participated in individual and family therapy and Grace stayed out of trouble.</p><p>Charisse told a court caseworker assigned to the case that other than being irritable and getting "cabin fever" from being shut at home during the pandemic, "nothing significant" had taken place between the mother and daughter. There was no police contact after the November incidents, records show.</p><p>The April 21 juvenile court hearing on the larceny and assault charges against Grace was conducted via Zoom since the courts had shut down, with everyone calling in from their homes. Grace connected from her bedroom, her mother from their living room.</p><p>It had the familiar awkwardness of many online meetings: dropped audio; a dog barking in the background; participants swivelling in their chairs; the prosecutor losing his connection. (This hearing and others in the case were recorded, and a ProPublica reporter watched them at the Oakland County courthouse last month.)</p><p>Ashley Bishop, a youth and family caseworker for the court, told the judge she thought Grace would be best served by getting mental health and anger management treatment in a residential facility. The prosecutor, Justin Chmielewski, said he agreed. Grace's court-appointed attorney, Elliot Parnes, said little but asked that she be given probation because she had committed no new offenses and because of the risk of COVID-19 in congregate facilities.</p><p>Parnes and Bishop declined to comment for this story and Chmielewski did not respond to calls.</p><p>Throughout the hearing, Grace took her glasses off to brush away tears and wiped her nose with her sleeve. She shook her head, which the judge later criticized as a sign of disagreement but which Grace told ProPublica signaled her disappointment in her past behavior. She raised her hand a couple times and asked, in a small voice, "Can I just say something please?"</p><p>"My mom and I do get into a lot of arguments, but with each one I learn something and try to analyze why it happened," she said. "My mom and I are working each day to better ourselves and our relationship, and I think that the removal from my home would be an intrusion on our progress."</p><p>Brennan admonished Grace for the fights with her mother, her thefts at school and behaving in a way that required police to come to their home. "Police," she said. "Most people go through their entire youth without having the cops have to come to their house because they can't get themselves together."</p><p>But, citing the pandemic,

In April, Grace was sentenced to probation, which required her to complete her school work

Brennan decided not to remove Grace from her home and instead sentenced her to "intensive probation." The terms of the probation included a GPS tether, regular check-ins with a court caseworker, counseling, no phone and the use of the school laptop for educational purposes only. Grace also was required to do her schoolwork.</p><p>"I hope that she upholds her end of the bargain," Brennan said at the end of the hearing.</p><p>Schools across the country weren't prepared for the abrupt turn to remote learning. Grace's school, Groves High School, in one of the most well-regarded districts in the state, was no different.</p><p>In mid-March, thinking the closures might last for only a month, the district initially offered optional online activities and then recessed for an already-scheduled weeklong spring break. Soon after, Whitmer announced that schools would end face-to-face instruction for the rest of the year. The Birmingham Public Schools superintendent asked families for patience as schools moved to an online curriculum in mid-April and promised flexibility in their support. Officials said student work would be evaluated as credit/no-credit.</p><p>The initial days of remote school coincided with the start of Grace's probation. Charisse was concerned that her daughter, who was a high school sophomore and had nearly perfect attendance, would have trouble without in-person support from teachers.

Grace, a special needs student, is easily distracted

Grace gets distracted easily and abandons her work, symptoms of her ADHD and a mood disorder, records show. Her Individualized Education Plan, which spelled out the school supports she should receive, required teachers to periodically check in to make sure she was on task and clarify the material, and it allowed her extra time to complete assignments and tests. When remote learning began, she did not get those supports, her mother said.</p><p>Days after the court hearing, on April 24, Grace's new caseworker, Rachel Giroux, made notes in her file that she was doing well: Grace had called to check in at 8:57 a.m.; she reported no issues at home and was getting ready to log in to do her schoolwork.</p><p>But by the start of the following week, Grace told Giroux she felt overwhelmed. She had forgotten to plug in her computer and her alarm didn't go off, so she overslept. She felt anxious about the probation requirements. Charisse, feeling overwhelmed as well, confided in the caseworker that Grace had been staying up late to make food and going on the internet, then sleeping in. She said she was setting up a schedule for Grace and putting a desk in the living room where she could watch her work.</p><p>"Worker told mother that child is not going to be perfect and that teenagers aren't always easy to work with but you have to give them the opportunity to change," according to the case progress notes. "Child needs time to adjust to this new normal of being on probation and doing work from home."</p>

Grace got a violation for falling asleep in the middle of a school day

<p>Five days later, after calling Charisse and learning that Grace had fallen back to sleep after her morning caseworker check-in, Giroux filed a violation of probation against her for not doing her schoolwork.</p><p>Giroux told the prosecutor she planned to ask the judge to detain Grace because she "clearly doesn't want to abide by the rules in the community," according to the case notes.</p><p>Grace has said in court and in answers to questions from ProPublica that she was trying to do what was asked of her. She had checked in with her caseworker every day and complied with the other requirements of intensive probation, including staying at home and obeying all laws. She had told her special education teacher that she needed one-on-one help and began receiving daily tutoring the day after the probation violation was filed.</p><p>Giroux filed the violation of probation before confirming whether Grace was meeting her academic requirements. She emailed Grace's teacher three days later, asking, "Is there a certain percentage of a class she is supposed to be completing a day/week?"</p><p>Grace's teacher, Katherine Tarpeh, responded in an email to Giroux that the teenager was "not out of alignment with most of my other students."</p><p>"Let me be clear that this is no one's fault because we did not see this unprecedented global pandemic coming," she wrote. Grace, she wrote, "has a strong desire to do well." She "is trying to get to the other side of a steep learning curve mountain and we have a plan for her to get there."</p><p>Giroux declined to comment. Tarpeh told a reporter she was not allowed to discuss Grace's case.</p><p>The May 14 hearing to decide whether Grace had violated her probation, and what would happen if she had, took place at the Oakland County courthouse when the Family Division was hearing only "essential emergency matters."</p><p>Grace's case was the only one heard in person in the courthouse that day.</p><p></p><p>Grace's attorney, concerned about his health, participated by Zoom, though he told the judge it was difficult to represent her without being there. He told the judge he decided not to request a postponement because the family was worried she would detain Grace if they waited for a later court date.</p><p>The prosecution called Giroux, the caseworker, as its only witness. In response to questions from Grace's attorney, she acknowledged she did not know what type of educational disabilities Grace had and did not answer a question about what accommodations those disabilities might require. Her assessment that Grace hadn't done her schoolwork was based on a comment her mother made to her teacher, which Charisse testified she said in a moment of frustration and was untrue.</p><p>Grace's special education teacher, Tarpeh, could have provided more information and planned to testify but had to leave the hearing to teach a class, according to the prosecutor.</p><p>Grace and her mother testified that she was handling her schoolwork more responsibly — and that she had permission to turn in her assignments at her own pace, as long as she finished by the end of the semester. And, Charisse said, Grace was behaving and not causing her any physical harm.</p><p>The transition to virtual school had been difficult, Grace testified, but she said she was making progress. "I just needed time to adjust to the schedule that my mom had prepared for me," she said.</p><p>Brennan was unconvinced. Grace's probation, she told her, was "zero tolerance, for lack of a better term."</p>

In May, Grace was sentenced to detention due to her violation

<p>She sent her to detention. Grace was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs.</p><p>From March 16, when Michigan courts began limiting operations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, to June 29, at least 24 delinquency cases involving youth in Oakland County court resulted in placements to juvenile facilities. Of those, more than half involved young people who are Black, like Grace.</p><p>Those numbers, obtained by ProPublica from the Oakland County Circuit Court, reflect long-standing racial disparities in the state and county's juvenile justice system. From January 2016 through June 2020, about 4,800 juvenile cases were referred to the Oakland court. Of those, 42% involved Black youth even though only about 15% of the county's youth are Black.</p><p><a href=https://njdc.info/wp-content/uploads/Michigan-Assessment-Web.pdf>A report released last month</a><div></div>, which found inadequate legal representation for juveniles in Michigan, noted that research has shown a disproportionate number of youth of color are incarcerated in Michigan overall. Black youth in the state are incarcerated more than four times as often as their white peers, according to an analysis of federal government data by The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that addresses racial disparities in the criminal justice system.</p><p>"It is clear that kids of color are disproportionately involved and impacted by the system across the board," said Jason Smith of the nonprofit Michigan Center for Youth Justice, which works to reduce the confinement of youth. "They are more likely to be arrested, less likely to be offered any kind of diversion, more likely to be removed out of the home and placed in some sort of confinement situation."</p>

At the time, the governor was urging courts to send children home

<p>In Grace's case, too, she was sent to a facility at a time when the governor had encouraged courts to send children home.</p><p>At the county-run Children's Village, which has space for 216 youth in secure and residential settings, the population was down to 80 last week, according to the facility manager. There have been no COVID-19 cases in the youth population and four workers have tested positive from contacts outside Children's Village, she said.</p><p>During March and April, 97 juveniles were released from Children's Village by court order, said Pamela Monville, the Oakland County deputy court administrator. "We understood the orders and the concerns to stop the spread," she said. Judges, caseworkers and attorneys worked together to determine "who could go back to the community," she added.</p><p>Juvenile justice experts and disability advocates decried the decision to remove Grace from her home, particularly when "the state gave clear directives that children, and all people, unless it was a dire emergency, were to be kept out of detention," said Kristen Staley, co-director of the Midwest Juvenile Defender Center, which works to improve juvenile defense across eight states.</p><p>Terri Gilbert, a former supervisor for juvenile justice programming in Michigan and a high-profile advocate, said the system suffers from inconsistencies in treatment and sentencing, aggravated by a lack of public information.</p><p>"This is too harsh of a sentence for a kid who didn't do their homework. … There is so much research that points to the fact that this is not the right response for this crime," said Gilbert, a member of a governor-appointed committee that focuses on juvenile justice. "Teenage girls act out. They get mouthy. They get into fights with her mothers. They don't want to get up until noon. This is normal stuff."</p><p>Monville said Brennan, a judge since 2008, "made the decision she made based on what she heard and her experience on the bench."</p><p>But officials at the Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service, the state disabilities watchdog organization, said they were especially troubled that a student with special needs — one of the most vulnerable populations — was punished when students and teachers everywhere couldn't adjust to online learning.</p><p>"It is inconceivable that, given the utterly unprecedented situation, a court would enforce expectations about what student participation in school means that was not tied to the reality of education during a pandemic," said Kris Keranen, who oversees education for the group.</p><p>Charisse says the "greatest pain and devastation" of her life was watching Grace handcuffed in the courtroom. She got a letter in the mail a few days later:</p><p></p><p>"I want to change. I want to be a better person. Here I've realized how much you care and love me. I'm sorry I took that for granted. Please continue to send me pictures of me and you or just with anyone. I love you mommy and I miss you."</p><p>On Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the end of slavery, Charisse sat alone at her kitchen table, the wall behind her covered with Grace's childhood artwork. As the country faced a reckoning over systemic racism, the day had taken on increased recognition and Charisse lamented she and Grace couldn't mark it together as they usually did, attending programs at church or at the Museum of African American History in Detroit.</p><p>Charisse made strawberry lemonade with fresh watermelon, a variation on the traditional red Juneteenth drink, and talked to Grace the only way she could, through a video call monitored by a Children's Village case coordinator. The longest they had ever been separated before was when Grace attended a leadership sleepaway camp for six weeks over the summer.</p><p>"Juneteenth is all about freedom and you can't even celebrate. What do you have? It has been taken away," she said to her daughter.</p><p>Other than three recent visits, they have seen each other only on screen, including during a court status hearing in early June. On that day, Charisse watched as Grace walked into a room at Children's Village handcuffed and with her ankles shackled, her mother said.</p><p>"For us and our culture, that for me was the knife stuck in my stomach and turning," Charisse said. "That is our history, being shackled. And she didn't deserve that."</p><p></p>

In June, at a hearing, Grace pleaded to be allowed to go home, but was denied

<p>At the hearing, both Grace and her mother pleaded with the judge to return her home. "I will be respectful and obedient to my mom and all other people with authority," Grace said. "I beg for your mercy to return me home to my mom and my responsibilities."</p><p>The judge, however, sided with the caseworker and prosecutor. They agreed that Grace should stay at the Children's Village not as punishment, but to get treatment and services. She ordered her to remain there and set a hearing to review the case for Sept. 8. By then, it will be a week into the new school year.</p><p>On Juneteenth, Charisse and Grace spoke for their full allotted 45 minutes. Grace wore a light blue polo shirt her mother had dropped off a few days earlier. Her hair was pushed back with a Lululemon headband.</p><p>Their conversation began with the mundane: Charisse reminded Grace to use her deodorant, and Grace said she needed to get her glasses fixed. But it landed, inevitably, at the frustration they both feel.</p><p>"I want you to write in your journal," Charisse told Grace. She urged her "not to get too comfortable" in detention. "I want you to do what you are supposed to do, but I don't want you to feel like this is your new norm."</p><p>Grace's initial weeks in detention were "repetitive and depressing," she recently told ProPublica in response to written questions.</p><p>Grace was required to stay in her locked room from 8:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. She couldn't turn the lights on and off herself and she slept on a mattress on a concrete slab, she said. She passed the time by reading, drawing and watching some TV.</p><p>The local school district provided packets of material but no classes. She said that she has not yet worked with a teacher in person or online, and that she meets less regularly with a therapist at Children's Village than she did at home.</p><p>She has since been transferred to a long-term treatment program at Children's Village, where she has a bit more freedom. Still, she tells her mother, it's difficult to think about what she's missing. "Everyone is moving past me now and I'm just here," she said during the Zoom call.</p><p>A Children's Village case coordinator, listening, tried to be encouraging. "You are doing very well right now," she said. "Whatever happens, it looks good. You are respectful, you are following the rules."</p><p>Then she told them their time was up.</p><p>"Stay strong," Grace told her mom.</p><p>"You stay strong, too," her mother replied. "I love you."</p><p>"I love you, too."</p><p></p></div><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/a-teenager-didnt-do-her-online-schoolwork-so-a-judge-sent-her-to-juvenile-detention"><meta name="syndication-source" content="https://www.propublica.org/article/a-teenager-didnt-do-her-online-schoolwork-so-a-judge-sent-her-to-juvenile-detention"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js" async></script>

• My Black son who has autism is 'different' like Elijah McClain was. It makes me fear for his life more than I already did.
• I'm white. My sons are black. The Central Park incident confirmed that my kids won't be safe anywhere.
• 7 anti-racist books for middle school children

Watch: Can the novel coronavirus be stopped?

• Main content

latest in US News

Dog tossed down NYC high-rise trash chute — and miraculously...

Unhinged woman assaults 3 Italian tourists in NYC

How to spend the perfect day in NYC — according to a lot of...

Man fatally knifed by career criminal with 9 prior arrests —...

LI mom accused of meth-fueled, wrong-way crash that killed son,...

First time homebuyers in this state get $30K grant -- but US...

Emily Ratajkowski fires back after stranger heckles her skimpy...

Man drowns in lake after saving two people — including...

Special-needs teen incarcerated for not doing her online schoolwork.

A 15-year-old Michigan girl was sent to juvenile detention after a judge ruled that she violated probation when she failed to complete her online coursework, according to a new report.

The girl, identified only as Grace, has been incarcerated since May when the judge revoked her probation for her “failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school” during the coronavirus pandemic, ProPublica reported Tuesday.

The girl’s mom and advocates have accused the court of racial bias against Grace, a black special-needs student with ADHD living in a predominantly white village of Beverly Hills.

“Who can even be a good student right now?” Ricky Watson Jr., executive director of the National Juvenile Justice Network, told ProPublica. “Unless there is an urgent need, I don’t understand why you would be sending a kid to any facility right now and taking them away from their families with all that we are dealing with right now.”

Grace was placed on probation after two incidents dating back to last fall. On Nov. 6, the cops were called after she bit her mom’s finger and pulled her hair over a dispute about going to a friend’s house, the outlet reported.

Several weeks later, she was caught on surveillance footage stealing another student’s cellphone from a school locker room, according to ProPublica. The phone was then returned to the school-mate.

Grace hasn’t broken the law again — but she has struggled with learning, missing class and work after her school transitioned to online courses on April 15, the outlet reported. ProPublica couldn’t find another example of a student being incarcerated for failing to do school work.

Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, the presiding judge of the Oakland County Family Court Division, called Grace a “threat to [the] community” when she sentenced her to juvenile detention on May 14, according to the outlet.

“She hasn’t fulfilled the expectation with regard to school performance,” Brennan said during the sentencing. “I told her she was on thin ice and I told her that I was going to hold her to the letter, to the order, of the probation.”

But Grace’s teacher has come to her defense, arguing that her performance during the pandemic was “not out of alignment with most of my other students” who are trying to adjust to remote classes.

The ruling has left Grace’s mother, identified only as Charisse, completely distraught.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Charisse told ProPublica, crying after one of her visits to see Grace.

“Every day I go to bed thinking, and wake up thinking, ‘How is this a better situation for her?’”

Oakland County 15-year-old jailed for not doing homework released from probation

(WXYZ) — A 15-year-old girl who was ordered to juvenile detention for not doing her homework has been released from probation.

The girl, who is being called "Grace" to protect her identity, was ordered to Oakland County Children's Village by Judge Mary Ellen Brennan after violating probation to complete online school work.

Related: Teen sent to detention for not completing coursework makes plea to judge at hearing: 'Each day I try to be a better person'

Judge Mary Ellen Brennan said she had to consider the actions that placed Grace on probation to begin with. Last fall, arguments between the teen and her mother turned violent. The judge says the mother was the victim and the daughter the aggressor.

Related: #FreeGrace petition circulating after teen sent to detention center for not completing schoolwork

On Tuesday, Brennan released the teen from probation after the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered Grace to be released from jail on July 31.

"To say that we are pleased with the outcome is an understatement. While it was an unfortunate and painful process, it has resulted in Grace finally and permanently returning home to her family," her mother said in a statement. "It has also provided insight into an otherwise obscure window into a system that requires change in order to effectively and positively impact those it is designed to serve. We will continue to work towards that change for our Grace, and the thousands of other children whose lives are touched by this system.

"In the short period of time that Grace has been home, we have become keenly aware of how damaging the juvenile system is as she recants loss of well-being, quality education, effective therapies and faith in a system that was supposed to protect and preserve the family. No child should walk away feeling less than because a system is degenerative and designed to break the spirit. Rather, than lift up and motivate a child to live up to their potential and vision their dreams fulfilled within arms reach," her mother added.

Sign up for the Morning Newsletter and receive up to date information.

Now signed up to receive the morning newsletter..

Shout out your favorite teacher or best friend!

Grace needs to be back at home, she is in Juvenile Detention for not doing homework