In Illinois, the Community Consolidated Elementary District 21 serves Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights. In a close vote, the school board made a budget priority to keep police officers in the schools to build rapport with students and provide a sense of security.
In Florida, officials in Duval County are in conflict over restorative justice policies. Student arrests are down 39%, but the State Attorney says educators are exceeding the limits of the Code of Conduct. Florida law allows schools to deal with “petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors” in-house.
In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City school district reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Education after an investigation determined black students accounted for 42 percent of in-school suspensions during the 2014-15 school year, while comprising 26 percent of the population, according to a statement released Wednesday by the department.