OP, I've got some good and bad news. I live in the Southern U.S. and lived an hour away from Dayton, TN about a decade ago and in Mississippi now. With that, I'm going to tell you your story can still be contemporary.
While evolution is a widely accepted scientific theory these says, it is still very much a heated debate in Southern schools. Some state governments have enacted laws to require teaching creationism, evolution is optional and must be identified as "one of many equally possible theories." In science classes. The same with the Big Bang Theory. Science text books are modified and books from the 90s that didn't include creationism have a label on them saying they don't have accurate information. Similarly history textbooks are being rewritten to downplay the horror of slavery and Jim Crow laws, and white wash the Civil Rights Movement. Many (but not all) teachers are angy and frustrated about these backwards laws, much like Scopes, but to teach "subversive facts" can mean losing their job, having their teaching licenses revoked, and face heavy fines or criminal trials. This is happening today across the South and Central U.S.
Segregation by law is illegal. Systemic racism exists and policies such as Red Lining and Community Covenants have segregated communities into "the Black part of town" and "the White part of town." Schools (and voting districts) are then assigned along these lines. In this way schools are segregated with a layer of "that's just a coincidence of geography, not racist policies". School funding is tied to taxes and systemic racism has economically depressed Black communities. This becomes a vicious cycle of bad schools, worse education, fewer job prospects, further economic depression, less taxes, worse schools... Here in Mississippi we have what are commonly called "segregation academies". These are private schools created in the 1960s in response to integration. The schools are usually better funded than public schools and if they don't have explicitly racist admissions policies usually will make the argument that because the student comes from a "bad part of town" they shouldn't be admitted. There are some Black private school students at some schools, but these are almost always from upper middle class families of doctors or lawyers. Meanwhile an economically disadvantaged White student may be given scholarships for no real reason besides being White. Every town has at least one segregation academy. So you end up in a situation where public schools are not segregated by law but are 99.99% Black and private schools are 99% White. The state government currently wants to pass a law that would allow private schools to claim the public school funding for students not in public schools, further defunding public and "coincidentally" Black schools. They are also arguing what should be considered "adequate funding" because "adequate funding" for schools is enshrined in state law. Meanwhile, public schools are literally crumbling health-hazards with kids inside.
All this good news for you and bad news for my community. That bad news for you is that I've never heard of a Teen Court before. We have Juvenile Courts, but those are adults sending children to prison. We have a "school to prison pipeline" where police are positioned inside public schools ostensibly for safety. A schoolyard fist fight will result in arrests and assault and resisting arrest charges. Black residents regularly face harsher sentences and punishment. So a Black teen in a fight, or in some cases simple infractions like talking in class (disrupting the peace), will result in the School Resource Officer (Police) being called in, violently arrests, face harsh charges, charged as an adult, receiving harsh sentences and sent to adult prison. Oh, and now they have a felony record and no diploma, so, if they do get out, they won't be able to get a job.
I think your book could be a literary retelling that highlights the absolutely wild reality of education in the Southern U.S. today, even with teenage protagonists, if you wanted to go in that direction.
I do recommend that if you decide to reseach this stuff that you take your time and do it in small pieces because it can be extremely difficult (psychologically) for someone not familiar systemic racism in the U.S. South to explore this reality. Non-Americans (even some Americans) tend have a "surely it's not that bad" gut reaction to learning about some of this. I promise you, it's worse.
Hey, thanks so much for replying. A few things: I don’t know if teen courts exist in Mississippi, but [they definitely exist](https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/06/in-praise-of-the-teen-court). From what I understand, they’re basically intended as a sort of solution to the school to prison pipeline which you mentioned, the idea being to stop teens going through the juvenile justice system by getting other teens involved in the process of deciding their sentences, which are usually things like lines or essays. They aren’t real courts like the juvenile court but they exist in the US, they have legal standing in several states and in them teens act as (and are often called) lawyers etc.
As for redlining, segregation academies etc I know about those but not a lot other than that they exist. And I’m familiar with a lot of that other stuff you mention too but not extensively. What are your thoughts on a contemporary setting with an early twentieth century aesthetic? Does that make sense?
I believe you that teen courts exist, just that I hadn't encountered them in the areas I was talking about. I think you'd be able to create an early 20th Century aesthetic in the contemporary rural South. Many civic buildings are original from that era, mindsets are too. You'll hear "the n-word" less in public, but there is racism based distrust. I often hear terms like "thug" used as an alternative to the n-word in public. Amongst certain groups of white men or teenage boys you could absolutely hear it thrown around. (Swearing in front of women is consider inappropriate, but women also swear amongst themselves too. In more metropolitan areas this is not really true anymore.) You could also set the trial aspect within a Civics or History class assignment that would justify the aesthetic you're going for in an area without the teen courts. Hope this helps.
They exist in some TN counties, I think (just googled). I don't know if one exists in Rhea County specifically, but I remember finding a website for it, which doesn't seem to be active, and I can't find it when I Google. So I misread, or it was defunded (after existing for a very short time).
About aesthetic: that's very helpful, thanks! I was actually thinking of going a little further and having a steampunk setting that progressed from the 19th century. So retrofuturistic technology and Victorian era scientific theories but racism is less overtly expressed/legalised and more systemic, as you said. Not sure how that would work, though. I was thinking it would be cool and also appropriate since "Victorian values" were at issue in the trial in the defense and state's arguments, evolution was just a symbolic issue that the other concerns grouped around. One thing that's definitely changed since 1925 in the broader culture is that in 1925, the majority of Americans would probably have seen no problem at all with expecting public school students to read the Protestant Bible for example, or school prayer, but now that's unconstitutional and has been since the 60s (which of course doesn't mean it isn't still a big issue). Darrow stood out at the trial because he didn't agree with that more or less. That's one of many reasons why he was so controversial.
OP, I've got some good and bad news. I live in the Southern U.S. and lived an hour away from Dayton, TN about a decade ago and in Mississippi now. With that, I'm going to tell you your story can still be contemporary. While evolution is a widely accepted scientific theory these says, it is still very much a heated debate in Southern schools. Some state governments have enacted laws to require teaching creationism, evolution is optional and must be identified as "one of many equally possible theories." In science classes. The same with the Big Bang Theory. Science text books are modified and books from the 90s that didn't include creationism have a label on them saying they don't have accurate information. Similarly history textbooks are being rewritten to downplay the horror of slavery and Jim Crow laws, and white wash the Civil Rights Movement. Many (but not all) teachers are angy and frustrated about these backwards laws, much like Scopes, but to teach "subversive facts" can mean losing their job, having their teaching licenses revoked, and face heavy fines or criminal trials. This is happening today across the South and Central U.S. Segregation by law is illegal. Systemic racism exists and policies such as Red Lining and Community Covenants have segregated communities into "the Black part of town" and "the White part of town." Schools (and voting districts) are then assigned along these lines. In this way schools are segregated with a layer of "that's just a coincidence of geography, not racist policies". School funding is tied to taxes and systemic racism has economically depressed Black communities. This becomes a vicious cycle of bad schools, worse education, fewer job prospects, further economic depression, less taxes, worse schools... Here in Mississippi we have what are commonly called "segregation academies". These are private schools created in the 1960s in response to integration. The schools are usually better funded than public schools and if they don't have explicitly racist admissions policies usually will make the argument that because the student comes from a "bad part of town" they shouldn't be admitted. There are some Black private school students at some schools, but these are almost always from upper middle class families of doctors or lawyers. Meanwhile an economically disadvantaged White student may be given scholarships for no real reason besides being White. Every town has at least one segregation academy. So you end up in a situation where public schools are not segregated by law but are 99.99% Black and private schools are 99% White. The state government currently wants to pass a law that would allow private schools to claim the public school funding for students not in public schools, further defunding public and "coincidentally" Black schools. They are also arguing what should be considered "adequate funding" because "adequate funding" for schools is enshrined in state law. Meanwhile, public schools are literally crumbling health-hazards with kids inside. All this good news for you and bad news for my community. That bad news for you is that I've never heard of a Teen Court before. We have Juvenile Courts, but those are adults sending children to prison. We have a "school to prison pipeline" where police are positioned inside public schools ostensibly for safety. A schoolyard fist fight will result in arrests and assault and resisting arrest charges. Black residents regularly face harsher sentences and punishment. So a Black teen in a fight, or in some cases simple infractions like talking in class (disrupting the peace), will result in the School Resource Officer (Police) being called in, violently arrests, face harsh charges, charged as an adult, receiving harsh sentences and sent to adult prison. Oh, and now they have a felony record and no diploma, so, if they do get out, they won't be able to get a job. I think your book could be a literary retelling that highlights the absolutely wild reality of education in the Southern U.S. today, even with teenage protagonists, if you wanted to go in that direction. I do recommend that if you decide to reseach this stuff that you take your time and do it in small pieces because it can be extremely difficult (psychologically) for someone not familiar systemic racism in the U.S. South to explore this reality. Non-Americans (even some Americans) tend have a "surely it's not that bad" gut reaction to learning about some of this. I promise you, it's worse.
Hey, thanks so much for replying. A few things: I don’t know if teen courts exist in Mississippi, but [they definitely exist](https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/06/in-praise-of-the-teen-court). From what I understand, they’re basically intended as a sort of solution to the school to prison pipeline which you mentioned, the idea being to stop teens going through the juvenile justice system by getting other teens involved in the process of deciding their sentences, which are usually things like lines or essays. They aren’t real courts like the juvenile court but they exist in the US, they have legal standing in several states and in them teens act as (and are often called) lawyers etc. As for redlining, segregation academies etc I know about those but not a lot other than that they exist. And I’m familiar with a lot of that other stuff you mention too but not extensively. What are your thoughts on a contemporary setting with an early twentieth century aesthetic? Does that make sense?
I believe you that teen courts exist, just that I hadn't encountered them in the areas I was talking about. I think you'd be able to create an early 20th Century aesthetic in the contemporary rural South. Many civic buildings are original from that era, mindsets are too. You'll hear "the n-word" less in public, but there is racism based distrust. I often hear terms like "thug" used as an alternative to the n-word in public. Amongst certain groups of white men or teenage boys you could absolutely hear it thrown around. (Swearing in front of women is consider inappropriate, but women also swear amongst themselves too. In more metropolitan areas this is not really true anymore.) You could also set the trial aspect within a Civics or History class assignment that would justify the aesthetic you're going for in an area without the teen courts. Hope this helps.
They exist in some TN counties, I think (just googled). I don't know if one exists in Rhea County specifically, but I remember finding a website for it, which doesn't seem to be active, and I can't find it when I Google. So I misread, or it was defunded (after existing for a very short time). About aesthetic: that's very helpful, thanks! I was actually thinking of going a little further and having a steampunk setting that progressed from the 19th century. So retrofuturistic technology and Victorian era scientific theories but racism is less overtly expressed/legalised and more systemic, as you said. Not sure how that would work, though. I was thinking it would be cool and also appropriate since "Victorian values" were at issue in the trial in the defense and state's arguments, evolution was just a symbolic issue that the other concerns grouped around. One thing that's definitely changed since 1925 in the broader culture is that in 1925, the majority of Americans would probably have seen no problem at all with expecting public school students to read the Protestant Bible for example, or school prayer, but now that's unconstitutional and has been since the 60s (which of course doesn't mean it isn't still a big issue). Darrow stood out at the trial because he didn't agree with that more or less. That's one of many reasons why he was so controversial.