A Volusia County group is pushing to have more students given civil citations instead of being arrested.
Fighting Against Injustice Towards Harmony, or F.A.I.T.H., has been working with schools and law enforcement to hold off on arrests and give minors with no prior record a civil citation for non-violent misdemeanor offenses, such as shop lifting.
Over the last four years, the group has seen the number of arrests drop statewide from 13,000 to 8,000 a year, but is concerned about some of the civil citations turning back into arrests.
F.A.I.T.H. is also working with Volusia County schools to create a policy that will remove out-of-school suspension for students with learning disabilities.
The event is Monday 6:30pm at the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach.