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THE PESA POST
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Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

August 12, 2021
SHE’S TEACHING TEENS TOLERANCE TO HELP STOP HATE
Commissioner Serio’s mission has been years in the making
Listening to Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Collette Serio run down a sampling of cases that have been heard by the Teen Court offshoot known as SHADES (Stop Hate and Delinquency by Empowering Students) is not for the faint of heart. “We had a kid with Down’s syndrome who was attacked in the school bathroom and had feces thrown at him, we’ve had kids with weight issues who were bullied, we had a high school student who had transitioned from male to female who was attacked,” she says, “so it’s not solely about swastikas and racial slurs. It’s gender bias, disability bias, a little bit of everything.”
 
Serio should know. After all, the Commissioner has served as Assistant Director of SHADES since its inception in 2007 and has been passionately committed to youth programs since she established a Teen Court at Woodland Hills’ Taft High School in 2003. 
 
With hate crimes on the rise in Los Angeles County, there’s never been a greater need for SHADES, which was founded by Los Angeles Superior Court’s Judge David S. Wesley (ret.) in partnership with the Museum of Tolerance. A special branch of Teen Court, the transformative-justice program in which first-time youth offenders have their cases heard by a jury of teen peers, SHADES considers cases that rise to the level of hate crimes or hate incidents. PESA is the program's supporting non-profit.
Serio has been active in SHADES—the only program of its kind in the U.S.—since Day One. It’s at the Museum of Tolerance that some 80 to 90 student participants drawn from the 43 Teen Court programs across Los Angeles County gather each summer for one of two weeklong intensive sessions of the SHADES Juror Training Institute to explore the nature of hate crimes and hate incidents. The students take deep dives into issues of intolerance and bias and feature talks with Holocaust survivors, members of the LGBTQ+ community and even a reformed white supremacist. Serio herself teaches a section called Deliberations and Alternative Sentencing. The week culminates in a daylong trial of an actual hate crime with a juvenile offending minor and family. 
 
Because SHADES cases involve hate crimes and hate incidents, youth jurors need this special, intensive training, says Serio. “They need to be trained on the legal definitions. They need to understand that these are crimes or incidents directed at protected classes of people. They learn about acts and motives.”
 
Horrible though these crimes are, Serio is quick to point out that the program isn’t simply about reaching swift verdicts and meeting out punishment. “The kids learn the most important thing,” she says, “which is transformative justice and rehabilitation." They learn how we can help a minor understand that what they did was improper, and how we can correct that behavior in the future, and how we can prevent it. The kids become very proactive. Our theory is that you can’t just sit around and say nothing. You have to be diligent. You have to be alert to what’s going on in the world and not always be quiet. It’s a life-changing experience for the kids.”
 
And by kids, she means all of those involved, from the student jurors to the youth offenders. “We’ve had a 100% success rate,” Serio says proudly. “They complete the terms of diversion. They successfully complete the program. Their record is sealed so nothing in terms of this case will prevent them from going to college or getting a job. We’re talking about big success.” ■

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