1. Discussion on Police in Schools Quarterly School to Prison Pipeline Meeting – Sept 2016

2. Agenda Current Context Walk-thru of new DSC recommendations
National Data and Local Struggles
Recent Dept of Ed and Justice Resources
Walk-thru of new DSC recommendations
How organizations can use them
Sharing about local work
Resources and strategy discussion

3. Percent of U.S. Schools with
Increasing Police Presence in U.S. Schools 260,000 students referred to law enforcement 92,000 students arrested
Black students are 2.3 times as likely to be arrested or referred to law enforcement
Percent of U.S. Schools with
Law Enforcement
24% of elementary schools
42% of high schools
51% of high schools with high Black and Latino enrollment

4. Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC) Recommendations
DSC members decided to take stronger position - Ending Regular Presence of Police in Schools
MOUs, trainings for SROs, etc. were not stopping criminalization
Developed recommendations with members across the country
Needed even more now in response to new resources from Departments of Education and Justice

5. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
On September 8th, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (ED) released resources and communications discussing the role of police in schools. 1. DOJ letter to campus police 2. DOJ letter to P-12th grade institutions 3. ED letter to campus police 4. ED letter to P-12th grade institutions 5. Policy rubric for state and local institutions 6. Implementation rubric for local institutions

6. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
John B. King, Jr.: “While these officers can help provide a positive and safe learning environment and build trust between students and law enforcement officials in some situations, I am concerned about the potential for violations of students’ civil rights and unnecessary citations or arrests of students in schools ” Ronald L. Davis: “The … COPS Office strongly believes that properly implemented school resources officers can positively impact the lives of our nation’s students [But,] if SROs are not properly hired, trained, evaluated, and integrated into the school community—or if they are given responsibilities more appropriately carried out by educators—negative outcomes can and have occurred.”

7. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
State and Local Policy Rubric
Safe, School-based Enforcement through Collaboration, Understanding, and Respect (SECURe)- 5 Actions Steps:
Create sustainable partnerships and formalize MOUs among school districts, local law enforcement agencies, juvenile justice entities, and civil rights and community stakeholders
Ensure that MOUs meet constitutional and statutory civil rights requirements
Recruit and hire effective SROs and school personnel
Keep your SROs and school personnel well trained
Continually evaluate SROs and school personnel, and recognize good performance

8. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
State and Local Policy Rubric
Highlighted the following MOUs/Agreements:
Broward County Collaborative Agreement
Denver MOU
Clayton County Cooperative Agreement
Also referenced laws from:
Indiana (training requirements)
Missouri (requires MOU if districts employ SROs)
Pennsylvania (state-model MOU)
Colorado (reporting requirements)
New Jersey (requires periodic review of MOUs)

9. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
Local Implementation Rubric
Action Step # 1 (Checklist to Improve):
Analyze available data to assess effectiveness of partnership and MOU, including discipline, tickets, arrests, school perception, and number of officers
Establish regular timeline to evaluate and revise MOU with students, parents, and other stakeholders

10. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
Local Implementation Rubric
Action Step # 2 (Checklist to Improve):
Establish process to regularly collect and analyze data
Use data to regularly revise policies
Involve stakeholder groups to address legal concerns

11. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
Local Implementation Rubric
Action Step # 3 (Checklist to Improve):
Establish regular timeline to review SRO hiring guidelines
Maintain onboarding process for new SROs to be mentored by more experienced SROs on special education issues, conflict resolution, de-escalation, restorative justice, and interacting with students with disabilities, LGBT and LEP students
Regular review SRO performance using SRO-specific rating instrument

12. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
Local Implementation Rubric
Action Step # 4 (Checklist to Improve):
Regularly review data to identify disproportionate discipline/arrests
Establish regular feedback from SROs and school staff for new trainings
Incorporate SRO and educator best practices into SRO manuals and staff handbooks
Include SROs in school life activities to build trust and relationships
Use real-life simulations for SRO and staff training on de-escalation tactics

13. Federal ED/DOJ Resources
Local Implementation Rubric
Action Step # 5 (Checklist to Start):
Design comprehensive performance evaluation and recognition system
Evaluate ability to de-escalate and use alternative practices
Collect feedback from students, families, etc. for evaluations

14. DSC Policy Recommendations: Ending the Presence of Law Enforcement in Schools

15. 1. End the Regular Presence of Law Enforcement in Schools
Remove any law enforcement assigned to be present on a regular basis in and around a school
This includes removing any school safety officers who can:
Arrest, question or ticket students
Carry any type of weapon (firearm, baton, taser, mace, etc)
Carry handcuffs or other forms of restraint
Report to or receive training from a police department

16. 2. Create Safe Schools through Positive Safety and Discipline Measures
Shift resources away from criminalizing students and invest in positive approaches, school staff, youth and parent leadership
Hire intervention workers, peace builders, restorative justice coordinators and counselors who can:
Help prevent and address safety concerns and conflict
Monitor school entrances
Respond to the root causes of behavior
Prevent and intervene in intergroup tension
Create school safety plans

17. 3. Restrict the Role of Law Enforcement that are Called In to Schools
Create an agreement requiring that police or safety officers:
Cannot be involved in discipline, and can respond only to serious criminal matters with threat of serious physical injury
Must notify the school and contact parents immediately
Cannot intervene in specific behaviors (disorderly conduct, vandalism/graffiti, being late or truancy, etc.)
Must be trained in youth development, de-escalation, etc.
Support parent and youth councils to monitor law enforcement and ensure access to complaint processes

18. Recap of Recommendations
End the Regular Presence of Law Enforcement in Schools
Create Safe Schools through Positive Safety and Discipline Measures
Restrict the Role of Law Enforcement that are Called in to Schools

19. General Tips for Using These Recommendations
Don’t share yet- public release is September 21st.
Think of these recommendations as a menu and lift up the pieces you think make the most sense in your local context.
Look at our Resource Guide for materials you can use in your local campaign, including talking points and data.

20. What If We Aren’t Calling for All Police to be Removed From Schools in Our Local Campaign?
Like our Solutions Not Suspensions campaign, which called nationally for a moratorium on out of school suspensions, local members may have different local demands from our national platform.
Members could align broadly with the long-term goal of ending police presence in schools, but prioritize specific demands for your current campaign that draw on parts of our national platform.

21. Some example demands that align with our recommendations:
Reduce the number of police or school resource officers in your schools, and shift those funds to hire more counselors or peace builders instead, using definitions and roles for alternative staffing models described in our national platform.
Add specific kinds of trainings for all law enforcement personnel that are currently coming into contact with schools, using our list of trainings described in our platform.
Develop a new agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between your school district and the police department to limit the circumstances when outside police can be called to the school building, using the recommendations described in our platform.

22. QUESTIONS on Recommendations?

23. Sharing from Your Local Work

24. DSC Resources Guide Already Created To Be Created
Data backing up our recommendations
Talking points
Resources for implementation of positive alternatives
Sample MOUs
To Be Created
Campaign and communication tools
More detailed MOU analysis

25. Discussion of Strategies
Organizing
Communications
Legal Strategies

26. Next Steps:
Official release on Sept 21st at congressional briefing
Public webinar - TBD (you can invite your local decision-makers)
Highlighting during Week of Action
Releasing more campaign tools for members