PTA Aims to Teach Teens about State Law via New Curriculum Proposal

05/14/09

The purpose of the class is to inform students of the law and hopefully prevent criminal activity within the public school system that could result in a criminal record for the offending teen.

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According to Cornelius, her goal is ''to make sure people understand that we can educate a child now or we can repair an adult later.'' Cornelius plans on presenting her idea to fellow PTA members in July during a state leadership meeting. At the meeting, Cornelius will encourage state PTAs to lobby for the initiation of the class. The materials for the class are based on the book, “Ignorance Is No Defense: A Teenager's Guide to Georgia Law'' penned by former DeKalb District Attorney J. Tom Morgan. The book uses real examples to get the point across that teens can be charged and punished for various crimes such as alcohol, drugs, sex and violence, and emphasizes that inappropriate or criminal behavior can lead to juvenile or adult court. It also teaches teens that they have rights concerning body searches and searches of their car and book bags without probable cause and the right to have an attorney present before answering questions by the police.

Morgan's inspiration for the book was his experience when representing teens. ''A lot of things that a kid may have been dealt with harshly [in the past] by his coach or principal for engaging in, now [school officials] are just picking up the phone and calling the police and the kid is getting arrested.''

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Morgan has been actively bringing his legal message to over 88 schools in two years, and informing teens of the law in hopes of keeping them out of trouble. Morgan informs teens regarding lesser known legalities including the fact that young persons ages 13 to 16 can be prosecuted as adults if convicted of serious crimes such as murder, and that teens face adult prosecution for crimes committed on their 17th birthday. The inappropriate use of cell phone cameras to take nude pictures is a popular agenda item as most teens don't realize that distributing nude pictures is considered a form of child pornography and a felony.

Cornelius believes that this legal information would benefit the teen population and if PTA members are in the favor of the idea, an appeal to the local school board(s) and legislators will be put forward to include the class as part of the curriculum.