Education is a fundamental human and civil right. Having fought for equal access to quality education for decades, Black, Latino, Asian and other people of color are now facing a whole new barrier. The mostly Black and Latino students of the LA Unified School District are being criminalized and ticketed for absences or lateness ("truancy"), contributing significantly to their 50% dropout/pushout rate.

Numerous studies have shown that so-called "zero tolerance" policies such as truancy ticketing unfairly target students of color. Research has also shown that the increasing reliance on school police—instead of educational professionals—to handle student discipline issues creates an adversarial environment that pushes students out of school, particularly students already at risk.

At its core, the policy of ticketing students for daytime curfew violations is a law enforcement tactic that purports to address "crime;" it is not an educational tactic to address the root causes behind dropouts/pushouts and improve opportunities for educational success.