In a major overhaul of the Los Angeles School Police Department, the Board of Education on Tuesday approved a plan that would cut a third of its officials, ban the use of pepper spray on students and divert funds from the department to improve the education of black students.
The unanimous decision comes after a year-long campaign by student activists and members of the community to re-introduce the school’s police force, which they are excessively targeting black and Latino children. Their quest and recent calls to completely defend the school’s police department increased after the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd, which forced cities and school districts across the country to consider how police use black Americans excessively hurt.
“We are not at this point, although it is indeed delayed without the leadership of the community,” said council president Kelly Gonez. “I am pleased that the development of the plan also provides an opportunity for more involvement with our students, families and the wider community.”
The police overhaul by the Los Angeles Unified School District provides funding for ‘climate coaches’ for schools that will work to promote positive school culture and to address implicit prejudices at every secondary school. Support staff and a performance plan for black students will also be added.
Councilor George McKenna expressed strong concern about it during the debate.
‘The parents expect us to have safe schools. “And if you think the police are the problem, I think you have a problem yourself,” McKenna said.
Councilor Jackie Goldberg noted that officers will not disappear from campuses, but will continue to monitor schools and respond to emergencies.
LA Unified follows a few other school districts that have reduced or eliminated school departments. The Oakland Unified School District School Board voted unanimously in June to eliminate its police department for schools. That month in Portland, Ore., The superintendent of public school campuses announced would not have anymore school resource officers regularly on campus.
A coalition of about 19 student activist and advocacy groups – including Black Lives Matter, the Community Coalition, InnerCity Struggle and the California Assn. of Black School Educators – praised the action that will bring a $ 11.5 million effort to promote black student achievement.
“This plan is part of a long-standing community demand for counselors and not policemen, and is a first step towards replacing the school police with more effective student safety strategies,” the organizations said. “This victory is an important step in mitigating the years of disinvestment and ending the criminalization and excessive policing of black students and students of color in LAUSD.”
The leaders of the school police in Los Angeles largely opposed the attempt, and the reduction of 25 million dollars led to the resignation of 20 officers.
The approved plan will cut 133 posts: 70 sworn officers, 62 non-sworn officers and 1 support staff. At the meeting, Chief Leslie Ramirez said the reduction would leave the force with 211 officers.
During 45 minutes of public comment during the meeting, many speakers expressed their support for the plan. Many have identified themselves as students affiliated with the Students Deserve group, which is campaigning for reimbursement from school police. Some students have expressed frustration over how long it has taken to transfer the funds to their black counterparts since the school board announced the reduction in funding in June.
The school board and the wider community are divided on the matter.
A survey by district commissioners showed that students, parents and staff generally had positive opinions about school policing, and more than half of those in each group said they believe school policing makes campuses safe.
But by demographics, 35% of black students agree with the sentiment, compared to 56% of Asian and Pacific Island students, 54% of Latino students, and 49% of white students.
A similar pattern was found among parents, in which about 50% of black parents agree that school police make campuses safe, compared to 72% of parents in Asia and the Pacific, 67% of Latino parents and 54% of white parents.
In addition, a quarter of black female students said they did not feel safe with a police officer present, the highest of all racial groups when divided by gender. Twenty percent of black male students also said they did not feel safe with an officer. Black parents were also less likely to believe that the school police made campuses safe compared to other races and ethnic groups.
The attitude towards the conversion of school police funds was more mixed. About 2 out of 5 students and parents support diverting money from the school police to other resources for students. Nearly a quarter of parents are against shifting funding.
Opposition to the reduction of funds has increased among parents and staff members on high school campuses. When asked about the gradual reduction of the school police force, 43% of the parents and 47% of the staff were against it. When asked about reducing the police budget by 90% over three years, the opposition of parents and staff increased to 49% and 56% respectively.
In Tuesday’s report, it was noted that among the respondents there is consensus that the department should not be completely dismantled. McKenna, the only black school board member, expressed his opposition to the reduction of school officials on campus.
Overall, there was consensus among respondents for support in increasing funding for student resources in the form of additional staff, such as psychiatric social workers and counselors, as well as expanding mentoring programs.
The report, conducted by Los Angeles-based research firm Evitarus, surveyed 35,467 students in grades 10 to 12, 6,639 parents and 2,348 high school staff in October and November.
A total of $ 36.5 million – with $ 25 million from reverse school police funds and the remaining $ 11.5 million from next year’s general fund budget – will be invested in a performance plan for black students.
The bulk of the funding, $ 30.1 million, goes to hiring school climate coaches and other support staff, such as school nurses and counselors. The coaches will be responsible for the application of decalcification strategies for conflict resolution, the elimination of racial differences in the school’s disciplinary practices and the handling of implicit prejudice. The task force also identified 53 schools where more than 200 black students are enrolled and who are considered in high need to receive additional funding for staff, including a restorative justice adviser in each area.
Youth activists campaigning for the change celebrated the decision.
“I am proud to see a door to a bright future open for me and my peers,” said Emmanuel Karunwi, a student leader of the Coalition Brothers, Sons, Selves. “I am pleased to say that this victory is a step towards a reality where the death of black people is not inevitable.”