Over the last few years, dozens of cities, large and small, have eliminated school policing programs and replaced them with a variety of student services and alternative disciplinary systems. Here in Los Angeles County several communities have eliminated or scaled back school policing as part of their efforts to produce safer, more successful schools. These movements have been led primarily by parents and students themselves and have occurred mostly in low-income communities of color.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country, voted unanimously in 2021 to significantly scale back its school police force, by reducing the number of officers by 133 and reducing the police budget from $77.5 million to $52.5 million. That savings, plus additional resources went into a “Black Student Achievement Plan” that included $30.1 million for school climate and wellness to reduce over- identification of Black students in suspensions, discipline, and other measures through targeted intervention; $18.4 million for psychiatric social workers, counselors, and school climate coaches; and $2.4 million for teacher professional development, among other key changes.
Claremont, a city in Northeast Los Angeles County, also recently stopped using cops on campuses. As a result of organizing by the Claremont Student Equity Coalition, the Claremont City Council voted unanimously to end its SRO program in July 2021. In its place they have created new mental health and social support services and increased training for teachers and staff to better manage conflicts and disruptive behavior.
In July 2021, following a 4-year campaign led by Gente Organizada, the Pomona Unified School District voted to end its school policing program and to replace it with proctors trained in de-escalation techniques. These proctors are often parents or former students. In addition, resources were transferred into efforts to acclimate students to coming back to school following Covid shutdowns. Unfortunately, in 2022, a more conservative School Board was elected that brought back the contract with the Pomona Police Department to provide school police. Organizers remain committed to removing officers permanently from their schools.
In each of these communities, school policing was replaced by concrete alternative strategies for keeping young people safe and helping foster their education that don’t come with the negative consequences of relying on police. Instead, students are provided with professional care from counselors and psychiatrists, and provided with sufficient programs that nurture students’ wellness, academic and otherwise. This type of approach protects our young people from the school to prison pipeline from which contact with law enforcement is often the cause.
There is a growing list of evidence-based interventions that schools are using to make students safer than by just relying on school police. Increased classroom support staff, emotional social learning programs, hiring more counselors and mental health workers, developing restorative justice programs, and offering more high-quality afterschool programs are just a few examples.
No one intervention will single-handedly replace school police. What is needed is a constellation of programs that address the specific needs of specific school settings. As the needs of these schools’ change, so should the programmatic responses. Therefore, what is most needed is not a one size fits all ready-made program, but instead a menu of alternatives that can be drawn upon to address the needs of different schools at different times. The options we reference represent evidence-based practices that school systems across the country have undertaken in different combinations and intensities.
It’s time for school districts in the Antelope Valley to follow the lead of dozens of cities across California and the rest of the US to adopt police free schools. We’re ready to begin a community-driven process to address how we are reimagining safety in the AV. Having launched the coalition a little over a year ago, we are focused on developing alternatives to policing in schools and are hoping the community will join us in advocating for a school district that upholds care over police.
Magnetlady says
When my children were in school, there was NO NEED for Police Officers in school. That’s because my children knew that I enforced the rules at home & disciplines them accordingly. Their Dad was a Police Officer in our City too & WE made sure our children respected ALL Teachers, the School Principle plus our Police Officers & Firemen!! There were ”drugs” during those days too, however my children knew they’d be disciplined if they used any. We ate breakfast & dinner at the ”Dinner Table” nightly & they had daily chores to do.. It seems that the ”Parents” now are REWARDING their children for ”Bad Behavior” instead of GUIDING them to be responsible & accountable Adults. I think we need more ”Parenting Classes” for those ”at-risk” children & If those children continue to ”act out”, further steps should be taken. Parents appear to be ”afraid” of their children, IMHO They’re afraid their child won’t love them so they want to be their child’s ”Best Friend”. Your child has plenty of Best Friends, so be the ”PARENT” first. Children are born into an ”Adult World” & need to show respect to their Elders & follow the rules of Society.. How are they ever going to succeed in Life if they don’t have the skills? It takes 2 parent’s working to support their family, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have Rules in your House that children need to follow..
Teagan says
To Nick Sanchez, Alex S. Vitale, Christian Green, and any other supporters of #CanceltheContractAV. Your desire to adopt a police free school is honorable and understandable but severely misguided.
With just one officer “regularly” monitoring our school, I never see them. What I do see is students out of class, all the time. Students bring drugs to school, all the time. Trash everywhere, all the time. Bathrooms destroyed and locked, all the time. Students disrespecting teachers, all the time. And now students are actively pursuing and attacking teachers on their personal phones and on their personal property. Adult community leaders such as Christian Green are even publicly encouraging students on social media to intimidate these teachers. All of this is happening with an officer on campus.
Instead of focusing on the one officer per campus we have, let’s focus on other positive changes that could more immediately and effectively impact our campuses. This needs to happen whether we have a contract with police or not. This is possible = now. When students repeatedly do not follow basic rules, there should be consequences. And those consequences should involve parents/guardians. Currently students are just sent back to class no matter what the problem is. I should not have to go to school where the bathrooms smell like marijuana and my class is always interrupted by the same student causing the same problems for the same teacher. Cancelling our police contract does not hurt or help our schools at this point, we need real change and commitment from our entire community, adults especially.
FWB says
The students, staff, and crappy parents deserve one another without the effluence of LEOs on campus.
Cancel the Contract is a racist fraud and they deserve the outcome of their demands
Let’s get the party started
Diane says
Schools have become a war zone in the AV. The article mentions programs that they claim work but did not provide the information so one could verify it.Social justice, equity, and “counseling ” have been going on for years in schools and behavior HAS NOT IMPROVED. Schools have moved towards no discipline and the results speak for themselves. Students and school staff should feel safe while on campus. Eliminating the police/sheriff is not the answer.
Mark Napolitano says
Possible 417/415 fight…
3200 E. Avenue J8 (Eastside High School)..2
female, black, adults and a male, black, adult
fighting with students in quad…Sheriff
enroute code 3
UPDATE: adult family members of two
students fighting each other…2nd hand
information that both parties may have 417s
(guns)
UPDATE 2: Deputies requesting school be put
on lock down…checking on an air ship
UPDATE 3: school security has 3 irate parents in the office
UPDATE 4: numerous units on scene.Code
4A
UPDATE 5: confirmed no guns on campus.
detaining 2 and ascertaining further
11:31am 4/14/2022
Let’s re think that maybe??
Let’s contact AVUHSD and ask how many fights and sheriff have rolled in this year alone…
Mario presents says
After being threatened with a gun by an activist desiring no police on campus, I’m even more determined to keep law enforcement in our schools. Keeping our kids safe is a priority and Teachers shouldn’t have to fear their students.
Tim Scott says
How do you equate badged thugs on the premises with keeping kids safe?
We’re having a good time. says
You obviously do not have children, we all knew that though. If you had a child you would never make a comment like that. Something happened to you in life and it’s obviously affected your ability to show empathy or have sympathy for others. Let me explain this to you in common sense terms. The so called badged thugs you speak of are on school premises to protect the kids that can’t protect themselves from the kids who are actually being thugs. Have you left the house or read anything other than the LA times ever? Schools can be quite dangerous Tim. I’m sure you went to school 300 years ago when times were different. Also, New York City took the police off the subways and look what happened a couple of days ago. I will wait for your college educated intellectual response from some book your going to regurgitate.
Tim Scott says
Guess what…you don’t know what you’re talking about. My kids got through school just fine.
Meanwhile, have you seen the results of cops turned loose on schools? Beat up kids, handcuffed eight year olds. The only good thing about having cops in schools is that it teaches kids early to understand that nothing good comes from having a cop anywhere near them. Something everyone would be better off knowing.
We’re having a good time says
You have no concept of reality and your facts are false. Show me the data that says cops do more physical harm to the children on campuses. You can’t because like all liberals your trying to pull on peoples heart strings. Liars don’t figure and figures don’t lie. I love libs who use science and data when they need it , but hate to use it when they know they are wrong. Just admit your original comment was a Tourette’s moment and move on.
Tim Scott says
When I said you didn’t know what you are talking about it was in response to your ridiculous claims about knowing whether or not someone you have never met has children. Now THAT was just spewing with no facts, and it is obviously so to anyone watching. Since you obviously don’t care whether you say things you know, or even things you can possibly know, you have no credibility. You apparently just spout whatever satisfies your hate boner for whoever you disagree with, so you are in no position to make demands for “facts.”
Hey, you may very well be a cop. That’s pretty typical cop behavior.
Fat White Bob says
Tim spews as much bs about people he doesn’t have a clue about as anyone.
Just the pot calling the kettle black,, move along nothing to see here.
FWB says
Mario presents, that’s about right lol
Do you follow the group “Cancel the Contract”?
I fully support Cancel the Contract’s efforts to remove all LASD deputies from campuses. However my support is for a completely different reason. Cancel the Contract is pushing a fraudulent false narrative and refuses to accept that it’s bad parenting and poor student behavior that requires LASD deputies to be on campus. They are just refusing to take any responsibility for their actions that require law enforcement.
So hec with it, lets remove the deputies and see what happens. Since I’m no where near campuses I could care less if they shoot the place up. Many of the teachers and administrators deserve this for indoctrinating students to their socialistic beliefs.