OPINION: What math class and police brutality have in common

OPINION: What math class and police brutality have in common

What math class and police brutality have in common

An obsession with rule-following cuts short Black students’ opportunities

Last May, a 15-year-old Black girl in Michigan known only by her middle name, Grace, was put in juvenile detention for not completing her homework. Teens not turning in their homework is hardly an anomaly. Other teens are scolded, lose marks or, at worst, get detention for this offence. But Grace was incarcerated. The difference? She’s Black.

Grace’s story is just one example of how the American education system and American policing tactics converge.

The education system has a dangerous obsession with rule-following for Black children that cuts short opportunities, just as policing has a dangerous obsession with rule-following for Black people that cuts short lives.

This is particularly evident in math class.

Black students often receive compliments in math class for rule-following. In lower-income schools (which are often predominately Black), students are encouraged to follow math rules and formulae without questioning the teacher or the math itself, leaving them no room to ask questions or screw up.

Teachers are more likely to judge their Black students’ math abilities based on non-academic qualities, such as behavior and physical characteristics. A decade ago, Common Core math was introduced to emphasize understanding over rote learning, but the delivery of standards varies across schools, classrooms and teachers, depending both on who is being assessed and who is doing the assessing.

Related: White and female teachers show racial bias in evaluating second grade writing

In higher-income schools (which are often predominately white), understanding is often prioritized over procedure, and students learn math in more abstract ways, such as understanding why one uses a certain formula, instead of just being told to use it “because that’s the formula.” They also are shown how these abstract concepts contribute to the higher CONTINUE READING: 

“Ultimatum”: A searing challenge to institutional racism by Gerald Lenoir from his new book of poetry, “United States of Struggle: Police Murder in America” – I AM AN EDUCATOR

“Ultimatum”: A searing challenge to institutional racism by Gerald Lenoir from his new book of poetry, “United States of Struggle: Police Murder in America” – I AM AN EDUCATOR

“Ultimatum”: A searing challenge to institutional racism by Gerald Lenoir from his new book of poetry, “United States of Struggle: Police Murder in America”

ast week, my dad, Gerald Lenoir, released his brand new book of poetry, United States of Struggle: Police Murder in America. Gerald also released a video of one of the poems, “Ultimatum,” that will knock you off your feet (be aware that the evocative imagery and strong language can be triggering especially for victims of state violence).

After attending the book launch event where my dad read many of his poems aloud, I can tell you with conviction that if you love justice and Black people you need this book.

Gerald’s poetry is animated by his lifetime of dedication to building movements for racial and social justice. In the 1960s, he was part of the student uprisings at the University of Madison, WI, that won the Black Studies program. In the 1960s and 70s he was part of the movement against the war in Vietnam. In the 1980s–1990s he was a leader in the international campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. He helped lead campaigns against police brutality, racist violence, gentrification and for affirmative action in the 1970s and 1980s; the Rainbow Coalition and the Jesse Jackson for President campaigns in the 1980s; the HIV/AIDS response in the 1980s and 1990s; and the immigrant rights, Palestine solidarity, peace and Black Lives Matter movements in the 2000s and CONTINUE READING: “Ultimatum”: A searing challenge to institutional racism by Gerald Lenoir from his new book of poetry, “United States of Struggle: Police Murder in America” – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Cops In Schools Are Dangerous to Black Children - Philly's 7th Ward

Cops In Schools Are Dangerous to Black Children - Philly's 7th Ward

COPS IN SCHOOLS ARE DANGEROUS TO BLACK CHILDREN

Earlier this year, Dr. Tamar Klaiman, member of the Abington Board of School Directors, came under fire for saying the following:

We know that the Black and Brown students are much more likely to be shot by the officer, especially school resource officers, than other students, and I have serious concerns about anybody in the building having firearms, regardless or not of whether they are police.

Some parents called for Klaiman’s removal from the board and while Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy forgave the comments, he said they were hurtful to his officers, their family and the law enforcement community.

However, hurtful doesn’t mean untrue.

Chief Molloy said himself,

“There are instances and the data supports some of this stuff that they were suggesting about African American males being more likely shot by police.”

What I wonder if the focus of any on-going dialogue between Abington Police and the Abington School District is on Klaiman’s comments being hurtful or CONTINUE READING: Cops In Schools Are Dangerous to Black Children - Philly's 7th Ward

The Hazards of a Police State Education During COVID-19 | Dissident Voice

The Hazards of a Police State Education During COVID-19 | Dissident Voice

The Hazards of a Police State Education During COVID-19

Virtual School Dangers

There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.
— George Orwell, 1984

Once upon a time in America, parents breathed a sigh of relief when their kids went back to school after a summer’s hiatus, content in the knowledge that for a good portion of the day, their kids would be gainfully occupied, out of harm’s way, and out of trouble.

Back then, if you talked back to a teacher, or played a prank on a classmate, or just failed to do your homework, you might find yourself in detention or doing an extra writing assignment after school or suffering through a parent-teacher conference about your shortcomings.

Of course, that was before school shootings became a part of our national lexicon.

As a result, over the course of the past 30 years, the need to keep the schools “safe” from drugs and weapons has become a thinly disguised, profit-driven campaign to transform them into quasi-prisons, complete with surveillance cameras, metal detectors, police patrols, zero tolerance policies, lock downs, drug sniffing dogs, school resource officers, strip searches, and active shooter drills.

Suddenly, under school zero tolerance policies, students were being punished with suspension, expulsion, and even arrest for childish behavior and minor transgressions such as playing cops and robbers on the playground, bringing LEGOs to school, or having a food fight.

Things got even worse once schools started to rely on police (school resource officers) to “deal with minor rule breaking: sagging pants, disrespectful comments, brief physical skirmishes.”

As a result, students are being subjected to police tactics such as handcuffs, leg shackles, tasers and excessive force for “acting up,” in addition to being CONTINUE READING: The Hazards of a Police State Education During COVID-19 | Dissident Voice

Institute for Policy Studies: Reimagining School Safety | Diane Ravitch's blog

Institute for Policy Studies: Reimagining School Safety | Diane Ravitch's blog

Institute for Policy Studies: Reimagining School Safety

This valuable report analyzes how money could be better spent to protect students at school. It’s findings are stunning. We as a nation are spending vast sums on police in schools but insignificant amounts on mental health services and counselors who interact directly with students.

KEY FINDINGS & OBSERVATIONS

*Since 2018, states have allocated an additional $965 million to law enforcement in schools.

*According to a 2019 ACLU study, 1.7 million students have cops in their schools, but no counselors; 3 million have cops, but no nurses; 6 million have cops, but no school psychologists; and 10 million have cops, but no social workers.

*As of 2020, nearly 60 percent of all schools and 90 percent of high schools now have a law enforcement officer at least part time.

*The $33.2 million “school security” budget allocated for 2021 in Washington, D.C., could instead fund up to 222 psychologists, 345 guidance counselors, or 332 social workers.

*The $15 million “school security” budget approved for 2021 in Chicago could instead fund up to 140 psychologists, 182 guidance counselors, or 192 social workers.

*The $32.5 million “school security” budget allocated for 2021 in Philadelphia could instead fund up to 278 psychologists, 355 guidance counselors, or 467 social workers.

The report describes “militarized schools”:

As of 2019, there were nearly 50,000 school resource officers patrolling the hallways of America’s schools.

In schools that serve predominantly Black student populations, it is often much more than hallways that are patrolled.

For example, D.C. police are deployed to nearly all high schools to monitor cafeterias, auditoriums, hallways, stairwells, restrooms, entrances, and exits, as well as provide security for school-sponsored events. Such schools promote a learning environment that is more akin to that of a correctional institution than an educational one

Institute for Policy Studies: Reimagining School Safety | Diane Ravitch's blog

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

VIDEO–“Expel The Police”: TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” hosts Monique Morris, Jesse Hagopian, Dream Cannon, & Nathaniel Genene to talk about #PoliceFreeSchools! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

VIDEO–“Expel The Police”: TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” hosts Monique Morris, Jesse Hagopian, Dream Cannon, & Nathaniel Genene to talk about #PoliceFreeSchools! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

VIDEO–“Expel The Police”: TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” hosts Monique Morris, Jesse Hagopian, Dream Cannon, & Nathaniel Genene to talk about #PoliceFreeSchools!

The popular late night comedy news show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, just ran a powerful expose on the brutality of police against students in school. As they wrote of the program,

Correspondent Mike Brown gets an education from Dr. Monique Morris, Dream Cannon, Nathaniel Genene, and Jesse Hagopian in all the reasons School Resource Officers should be in schools. Just kidding, there aren’t any!

Check out this episode and then join the Black Lives Matter at School movements new campaign, the “Year of Purpose.” Part of BLM at School’s campaign is to demand, “Fund Counselors, Not Cops.” Also learn more about police in schools from The Advancement Project and Dignity in Schools.

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VIDEO–“Expel The Police”: TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” hosts Monique Morris, Jesse Hagopian, Dream Cannon, & Nathaniel Genene to talk about #PoliceFreeSchools! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

The Fight For Police-Free Schools: Lessons from the Past, New Directions for the Future | Schott Foundation for Public Education

The Fight For Police-Free Schools: Lessons from the Past, New Directions for the Future | Schott Foundation for Public Education

The Fight For Police-Free Schools: Lessons from the Past, New Directions for the Future

Leading organizers in the educational justice movement discuss how the last ten years of parent and youth organizing helped lay the foundation for the emergence of mass protests and the campaign for police free schools and where the movement is going. 

Panelists:

• Jonathan Stith, Alliance for Educational Justice and National Campaign for Police Free Schools
• Elsa Bañuelos, Padres & Jóvenes Unidos, Denver, one of first city schools to defund police
• Mónica García, LAUSD board member and sponsor of the motion to defund school police in LA
• Veronica Rodriguez, youth organizer
• Tania Trejo, youth organizer

Moderated by:

Mark R. Warren, UMass Boston and lead author, Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out!

Many of the panelists have also written about their experiences on the front lines of the battle for educational justice in America in "Lift Us Up, Don't Push Us Out!": Voices from the Front Lines of the Educational Justice Movement. The webinar was sponsored by Beacon Press.

The Fight For Police-Free Schools: Lessons from the Past, New Directions for the Future | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Sarah Lahm: The Hijacking of Police Reform by Wealthy Opportunists Resembles the Harm Done to Public Schools | Ed Politics

Sarah Lahm: The Hijacking of Police Reform by Wealthy Opportunists Resembles the Harm Done to Public Schools | Ed Politics

SARAH LAHM: THE HIJACKING OF POLICE REFORM BY WEALTHY OPPORTUNISTS RESEMBLES THE HARM DONE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Minneapolis City Council voted to disband the city’s police department on June 26, a little more than a month after George Floyd died after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. Chauvin, along with three other officers who were there when Floyd was killed, has since been fired from the force and is now awaiting trial for Floyd’s death.

The city council vote does not automatically mean Minneapolis will no longer have a police department, of course. After a series of steps, the public will be asked to vote in November on an amendment regarding whether or not this course of action is the right one.

n June, a competing vision of police reform had been on the table in Minneapolis. Just as community-led initiatives were gaining traction, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced in June that his department would be using “real-time data” to overhaul its operations.

The work would be driven not by local grassroots groups, but instead by a Chicago-based company called Benchmark Analytics. Chief Arradondo announced on June 10 that the Minneapolis Police Department “would contract with Benchmark Analytics to identify problematic behavior early,” according to local NBC affiliate KARE 11.

Red flags flew up instantly, however, when this arrangement was made public.

For one thing, Benchmark Analytics is a private firm that promises to deliver an “all-in-one solution to advance police force CONTINUE READING: Sarah Lahm: The Hijacking of Police Reform by Wealthy Opportunists Resembles the Harm Done to Public Schools | Ed Politics

I Can’t Breathe, But You're Breathing Fine. We Need to Confront This! - Philly's 7th Ward

I Can’t Breathe, But You're Breathing Fine. We Need to Confront This! - Philly's 7th Ward

I CAN’T BREATHE, BUT YOU’RE BREATHING FINE. WE NEED TO CONFRONT THIS!

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, I, like many black children, was raised by my single mother. Our fathers weren’t there for us; some by choice, and others in prison or dead. Since childhood, I have watched uniformed police abuse their power in poor neighborhoods. As a black man, I have learned to just shut up, put my head down, and put my hands up. My experience is not unique. Ask any black man. We have a shared experience. We have shared trauma. We are mistreated by the police. We are judged based on the color of our skin. We are seen as a threat simply for being. 

In the United States, black people are three times as likely to be killed by the police than white people. Racism, both overt and subtle, is woven into the fabric of our country. From slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation to housing and health inequities, the achievement gap in education, and the wage gap, racial discrimination is alive and well in the United States. Americans across the country are now bearing witness to the injustice and cruelty against people of color, that have existed for years, like never before. 

Divided Country

Our country is deeply divided, and the division is further highlighted by the CONTINUE READING: I Can’t Breathe, But You're Breathing Fine. We Need to Confront This! - Philly's 7th Ward

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Teacher talk has shifted from cops to corona

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Teacher talk has shifted from cops to corona

Teacher talk has shifted from cops to corona

Two weeks ago, the battle was raging over cops in the schools. Who should decide whether Chicago schools get to keep or lose their SRO -- the school board or the city council? Or should it be left up to each local school council to opt-in or out, as the mayor had argued?

Should the $33M contract between CPS and the CPD be broken or renewed? And if it were broken, could that money be better spent on vital school needs like nurses, social workers, and peer mediation counselors?

Things got hot and at times personal, which is the Chicago way, it seems. As the late, great Harold Washington used to say in response to his own council wars, "Politics ain't beanbag."

While I was hoping that the school board would vote to ditch the contract, I've been more inclined to leave decisions like this one to the individual school community. Having said that, I thought the board members had a pretty good, spirited debate, with open hearings and protests taking place outside, before voting narrowly (4-3) to keep the contract and leave the decision up CONTINUE READING: Mike Klonsky's Blog: Teacher talk has shifted from cops to corona

NYC Educator: The School Safety Shuffle

NYC Educator: The School Safety Shuffle

The School Safety Shuffle

There's a recent Post article that suggests it's a bad idea to take school security from the police and assign it to the DOE. They trudge out Mona David and her mysterious parent organization, and offer two examples of bad behavior before the officers were under the supervision of NYPD. David, of course, is the woman who thinks teacher tenure will lead us to Armageddon. I'm sure she's good for a quote here and there.

The two examples are the kind of argument frequently used against us. This teacher is awful, and that teacher is awful, and therefore all teachers are awful. It's exactly the sort of argument people like Campbell Brown and Mona David like to use. Take away teacher tenure, and have them depend on the tender mercies of Joel Klein and Mike Bloomberg, or every single teacher will be terrible. They take a few sensational examples, a quote here or there from one questionable source or other, and the case is closed.

I don't know about you, but I could tell stories about rogue police officers and write a similar story. I could cite examples of rogue reporters and write a similar story. We have a President who tells stories about reporters who tell the truth and condemns them for it. If you want to make an argument against a group, you don't do it effectively via a few sensational arguments about outliers. Arguments of that sort are called stereotypes. I'm offended by them, and you should be too. They can be used against any and all of us.

Will the DOE do a terrible job supervising school safety officers? Of course they will. The DOE does a terrible job at everything. It's a monument to blithering incompetence, a master of bureaucracy for bureaucracy's sake. I don't know how much time I've wasted over the last decade fighting with idiots employed by Tweed. Any chapter leader who CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: The School Safety Shuffle

Seattle’s educators: Defund the police and expel them from schools! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Seattle’s educators: Defund the police and expel them from schools! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Seattle’s educators: Defund the police and expel them from schools!

A version of this Op-Ed originally appeared in the Seattle Times.

Seattle’s Education Association representative assembly — the union body that represents Seattle’s teachers, nurses, librarians, instructional assistants, office professionals and educational support staff — has overwhelmingly passed seven resolutions in solidarity with the movement for Black lives. These included removing police from schools (which was achieved with a recent vote of the school board) and the King County Labor Council, (which was achieved by a recent vote of the council), educating SEA members on alternatives to calling 911 on students, and my own resolution to defund the Seattle Police Department and reinvest the money in education, health care and programs to support families.

These bold resolutions, adopted June 8, were surely spurred by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and the ensuing uprising that’s swept the nation. But this vote wasn’t only about injustices elsewhere. Seattle’s educators have been fighting institutional racism and the school-to-prison-pipeline here for some time.

In Seattle, our “Black Lives Matter at School” movement erupted September 2016. A white supremacist threatened to bomb John Muir Elementary School when the educators there — in conjunction with parents, community and the group “Black Men United to Change the Narrative” — declared they would celebrate Black students with an assembly, and by wearing “Black Lives Matter” shirts to school.

Black Lives Matter at School then went national, thanks to educators in Philadelphia who organized a full week of action and broke down the 13 CONTINUE READING: Seattle’s educators: Defund the police and expel them from schools! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Task Force on Safe Schools Address School Reform - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Task Force on Safe Schools Address School Reform - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Task Force on Safe Schools Take First Steps to Address Statewide School Police Reform

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today convened a hearing that took a comprehensive look at the role of police officers in schools and the impact that law enforcement presence has on students, learning, and campus safety. The hearing was a three-part panel discussion that examined: different models of school policing, research and data on the impact and consequences of police officers in schools, and a framework for potential policy recommendations for reimagining school safety.

An archived broadcast of today’s hearing can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) Facebook page.

As many school districts re-examine the role and impacts of police on their campuses, Tuesday’s Task Force on Safe Schools hearing was the first step to address these issues on a statewide level and within the context of equity and racial justice.

“These are tough conversations that we have to have,” said Thurmond. “Addressing these challenges head-on will help steer us in the right direction. In looking at these issues, we do have to acknowledge that implicit bias and racism does exist, but doing this work together and keeping our students as the most important focus, will allow us to provide solutions that will not only keep our students safe but will make our school communities stronger. We must take all steps to ensure our students are not criminalized.”

The Task Force on Safe Schools was created in response to the current social climate that is focused on racial justice and putting a spotlight on implicit bias and institutional racism.

During Tuesday’s hearing, participants heard reports from State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond and researchers from WestEd and the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. Together, they provided an in-depth overview of data that indicates schools with police are not measurably safer than those without. Additionally, the research review indicated that schools with police had a disproportionate number of students of color arrested and removed from campuses.

The meeting also included viewpoints from law enforcement organizations including the National Association of School Resource Officers, the Richmond Police Department and the San Diego Unified School District Police Department, who shared personal stories about the positive relationships school officers have cultivated with the students they serve.

Prior to the hearing the State Superintendent provided a framework for policy recommendations including: establishing immediate best practices and requirements for school police; promoting and funding alternative programs such as restorative justice and intervention programs; and creating more data collection, monitoring, and accountability.

“This framework is not one-size-fits-all,” said Thurmond. “More research needs to be done so we can be clear regarding what the best alternatives are to current school police programs. The reality is that districts may elect to keep police officers on campuses, but there needs to be better training for officers and school staff in restorative justice practices. School police officers should not be viewed as or put in the position to be the school disciplinarian.”

At the conclusion of the hearing State Superintendent Thurmond outlined next steps, including future conversations in the coming weeks with state legislators on exploring funding for resources to implement restorative justice practices and training in areas such as de-escalation techniques and crisis management. Thurmond also announced the formation of a committee comprised of task force research partners and police organizations to review data and trends.

The lawmakers who participated in the hearing were:

• Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles)
• Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley)
• Senator Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco)
• Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland)
• Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella)
• Assemblymember Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara)
• Assemblymember Reggie Jones Sawyer (D-South Los Angeles/Huntington Park)
• Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento)
• Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego)

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Task Force on Safe Schools Address School Reform - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Oakland is at the forefront of a national movement to abolish police from K-12 schools | Salon.com

Oakland is at the forefront of a national movement to abolish police from K-12 schools | Salon.com

Oakland is at the forefront of a national movement to abolish police from K-12 schools
Amid a national conversation about cops and racism, Oakland Unified abolishes their school police force

Oakland, Calif.— Last week, amid national cries for defunding and abolishing the police, the Oakland school board voted unanimously to abolish the Oakland Unified School District Police Department, a police force specific to the school district. 

The resolution, which was drafted by the Oakland community-led organization Black Organizing Project (BOP), abolishes the Oakland Unified School District's police force of 10 sworn officers and 50 unarmed campus safety officers. The resolution also calls on the superintendent to reallocate the funds — $2.5 million — used for sworn police officers to support services such as social workers, psychologists and restorative justice practitioners.

As the resolution details, throughout the 2013 and 2018 school years, Oakland Unified School District spent over $9.3 million on the Oakland Unified School District Police Department. Meanwhile, in the last three years, 33 restorative justice coordinators were laid off.

Known as the George Floyd Resolution, this action is partly a result of the protests that have erupted since Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by a white police officer, but it also comes after nearly a decade of pressure from Oakland activists at BOP.

"While the murder of George Floyd was the catalyst for the uprisings across the country, and rightfully so, if we are being transparent, in 2011 there were very few people, individuals, and organizations who would agree with us and support us in identifying that police in schools was an issue," Ni'Keah Manning, a member of BOP and program coordinator, told Salon in an interview. "It definitely was not popular, it was seen as extremely radical." CONTINUE READING: Oakland is at the forefront of a national movement to abolish police from K-12 schools | Salon.com

Sacramento City Unified removing school resource officers, will use funds for alternative safety plans

Sacramento City Unified removing school resource officers, will use funds for alternative safety plans

Sacramento City Unified removing school resource officers, will use funds for alternative safety plans

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — The Sacramento City Unified School District is taking police officers out of its schools.

On Thursday, the Board of Education approved a budget for the upcoming school year that does not include any money for school resource officers with the Sacramento Police Department.

“There is no designation of funds for Sac PD in the budget,” school board President Jessie Ryan said.

It’s a move activists like Alma Lopez, an organizer with Brown Issues, have been calling for for years.

“School policing in our campuses is inherently part of the school to prison pipeline,” Lopez said. “So this is an action that can undo a racist policy which is policing in our schools.”

According to a report from the ACLU compiling U.S. Department of Education statistics, Black students were arrested three times as often as White students and schools with police reported 3.5 times as many arrests as schools without officers.

“It’s so important that we’re shifting our mindset about what safety looks like because what our students really need are support services and social workers,” Lopez said.

The school board has slowly been reducing the number of officers in recent years. There used to be one in every high school but this last year there were just three school resource officers and one sergeant.

“I think it’s a colossal mistake, frankly. I think it will have long-term implications,” former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinnis said.

McGinnis used to work as a school resource officer and said he worries removing them will leave students unprotected.

“You’re talking about vulnerable, young kids who need to be able to get through that part of life protected and to have a basic fundamental safeguard of their wellbeing on campus,” he said.

The school board says the $600,000 that previously paid for the resource officers will now go toward alternative safety plans, instructing the superintendent to create a task force of community leaders, parents, staff and students to figure out how to use the money.

But Ryan said the work to fight inequities in schools is just getting started.

“Recognizing the role systemic racism plays in the classroom, on the school site and in every level of our education system,” Ryan said.

The school district declined to comment Tuesday but the police department said in a statement to FOX40, “The safety of our community, including our schools, will always be a priority.”

Sacramento City Unified removing school resource officers, will use funds for alternative safety plans