As protests continue over police killings, schools are cutting ties with police departments. (AP … [+]
The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Amaud Arbery have shaken the country. Their deaths have reignited a fierce conversation about police brutality and racial justice and there have been eight days of protests. Organizations including schools have been pushed to reflect on their policies.
Last week, the Minneapolis Public School Board drafted a resolution to cut ties with the city police department. Tuesday night the school board finalized the decision, voting to sever its relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department.
This decision is a big move given the $1 million the school district spent on school resource officers in the last budget. In recent years, school districts have been under pressure to get school resource officers out of schools. But these deaths have sparked this conversation in a new way.
Parents and community members in Charlottesville, Virginia are demanding the Charlottesville City Schools end their contract with the police department. Similar calls for removing police from schools have been made in Denver, Colorado.
Prior to the recent deaths and protests, there was no discussion of severing ties with police departments. In some instances, states and schools have wanted more police protection, especially following school shootings. Earlier this year, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed a bill that would require police officers in schools to carry guns.
Beyond school districts, the University of Minnesota announced it would no longer use local police officers for major events, like football games. That decision came after the student government demanded the Minneapolis university end any partnerships with the police department.
Yesterday the presidents of student government groups at Ohio State University called for the university to “immediately cease contractual agreements” with the Columbus Police Department. Students called for the University of Illinois to do the same at a protest on Monday.
College campuses have long been centers of political activism. School districts have a different constituency from colleges but—with protests happening in big cities, mid-sized towns, small rural areas, and everywhere in between—it is possible the same calls for severing tie with police departments will be made to district leaders in all parts of the nation.
