Free Grace case
Teen jailed for missed homework amid ADHD and pandemic.
Her case drew national attention after a ProPublica article went viral, with advocates arguing that her ADHD accommodations were not provided and that the ruling reflected systemic racism. The Michigan Court of Appeals ordered her release after 78 days.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 16 May 2020
- Location
- Oakland County, Michigan, U.S.
- First reporter
- Jodi S. Cohen
- Participants
- Grace (arrested)
- Charges
- Probation violation for failure to complete homework
- Sentence
- Incarceration at juvenile detention center
Facts from the source article.
Background
Grace was a Black 15-year-old sophomore at Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, raised alone by her mother Charisse. The two had a close but sometimes volatile relationship. In 2018 Grace entered a court diversion program for incorrigibility after yelling at and hitting her mother. In late 2019 she was charged with hitting her mother and later with larceny for stealing a cellphone from a locker; she had no further police contact after those incidents. When in-person classes moved online in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grace stated she was overwhelmed by online learning and that her ADHD made her easily distracted. Her mother said the terms of Grace's Individualized Education Program were not fulfilled after the switch. At an April 21 juvenile court hearing for the theft and assault charges, a caseworker recommended residential treatment for mental health and anger management, but Judge Mary Ellen Brennan instead sentenced Grace to intensive probation with a GPS tether and regular check-ins. One week later, the caseworker reported a parole violation after Charisse said Grace had gone back to bed following a check-in; the teacher then reported Grace had failed to turn in an assignment, though the teacher later said she did not think Grace's performance was out of step with other students.
Arrest
At a May court date, Judge Brennan ruled Grace had violated probation, finding her guilty on failure to submit to schoolwork and getting up for school. The judge called Grace a threat to the community and sentenced her to incarceration at Children's Village juvenile detention center. Grace's caseworker testified she was unaware of Grace's learning disability or any accommodations she was entitled to. Grace was incarcerated in mid-May. At an early June status hearing, Grace and her mother requested her return home, but Judge Brennan reaffirmed incarceration to obtain mental health services, setting a September 8 review date and transferring Grace to a residential mental health facility.
Aftermath
Experts stated the ruling was not in line with disciplinary guidance amid the upheaval of COVID-19. State disability watchdogs and juvenile justice advocates said the punishment was too harsh for a missed homework assignment given the pandemic and that it reflected systemic racism and over-criminalization of Black youth. Grace is a Black teenage girl in a predominantly white school district with racial disparities in juvenile justice outcomes. The story was publicly released by Jodi S. Cohen in a July 14, 2020 ProPublica article and went viral under the hashtag #FreeGrace. A Change.org petition gathered over 250,000 signatures demanding her release. Members of Congress, ACLU Michigan, and Oakland County officials echoed calls for release, and school district officials argued students should not be punished for homework failure during the pandemic. A car caravan protest and a rally outside the Oakland County Circuit Courthouse drew approximately 200 people. The day before her release, several members of Congress requested intervention from Attorney General William Barr and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
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