Safety Law News for July 7, 2020

— In Ohio, the Columbus Police Chief will not renew the school resource program after the end of the contract with the Columbus City Schools.  The three-year contract expired on June 30.  The decision is proactive in light of a prior decision by the school district to create a committee to analyze the district’s use of school resource officers and their possible removal.

— In Arizona, the Tempe Union Governing Board is considering changes to its school safety program.  A high school senior delivered an extemporaneous 11-minute speech to the Board on what he called its “misguided” effort to eliminate SROs on four campuses.  His comments included his belief that, “[a]n SRO is not the reason that George Floyd died,” and “for us to entertain this conversation is … a disservice to what really needs to be said,” and that he and his fellow students have had “many more interactions involving racial bias and mistreatment from teachers and administrators than with any SRO,” and said the board should be talking with students about that and changing the culture in schools rather than look at resource officers.

— In Massachusetts, the Framingham School Committee has unanimously recommended that the district undertake a series of changes to improve the school resource officer program.  The recommendations include provide de-escalation training, frequent meetings between officers and students, a centralized review process whenever there is a hands-on incident, and “Know Your Rights” training for students.

— In Illinois, the Peoria Public Schools will not to renew its contract with the Peoria Police Department to provide school resource officers in its schools.  The school district will employ its own security department with unarmed officers. It is currently exploring operating its own certified police department with armed officers who have all authorized police powers.

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