MCCPTA �School Resource Officer
Proposed Resolution
January 26, 2021
MCCPTA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee
Yvonne Van Lowe, chair; Carla Morris, Idarah Umoh, vice chairs
Fred Azcarate, Jessica Berrellez, Debra Budiani-Saberi, Yeages Cowan, Evelyn Chung, Gillian Huebner, Mark Eckstein, Susan Kelly, Dalbin Osorio
MCCPTA Process
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Background
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MCPS’ Current SRO Program
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Arrest Data
The SRO Working Group and MCPS Board received data on student arrests
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Arrest Data
Who has been arrested?
What were the charges?
Why was there an arrest?
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2018/19 Arrest Data
Statewide report on School Arrest Data -- 163 in Montgomery County
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MCCPTA 2010 SRO Resolution
The DEI Committee recommends:
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DEI Comm recommends adoption of:�New Proposed MCCPTA SRO Resolution
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gsah84R91mAWQGoGgkAO720mHRpQ77FL/edit
What You Can Do
Prior to Your Next PTA Meeting
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Appendix
Organizations Supporting Removing SROs from MCPS Schools
Student Testimonies
Resources
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List of Organizations Supporting Taking SROs out of
Montgomery County Public Schools
ACLU MD, Montgomery County Chapter • ACLU of Maryland • Asian American Progressive Student Union • Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition • Bonimot Tzedek (Justice Builders) • CASA • DC Teens Action • DMV Peaceful Protest • Hear Our Voices MoCo • Interfaith Works • Jews United for Justice • Maryland Poor People’s Campaign • MoCo Against Brutality • Moms of Black Boys United for Social Change • Montgomery County Democratic Socialists of America • Montgomery County Education Forum • Montgomery County Racial Equity (MORE) Network • Montgomery County Students for Change • Muslim Public Affairs Council • Poor People’s Campaign • Progressive Maryland • Racial Justice Now • Showing Up for Racial Justice - Montgomery County, MD • Silver Spring Justice Coalition • Sisterhood of Salam Shalom • Students Toward Equitable Public Schools • Sunrise Silver Spring • Takoma Park Mobilization-Equal Justice Committee • xMinds Partnership for Extraordinary Minds • Young People for Progress • Youth Creating Change • Youth For Equity
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Student Obse Abebe's Public Comment on SROs for January 12, 2021 Board of Education Meeting
“I support the removal of the SRO program from Montgomery County Public Schools because the SRO program is not only a problem for students of color, but a problem for various student demographics in MCPS such as survivors of sexual assault. Over the summer, as many of you know, numerous posts were published on accounts such as @lgbtq+at____, @blackat___, so on and so forth. One that stood out to me was the @survivorsatbcc Instagram account and I remember seeing at least three different posts regarding the poor interactions victims had with SROs. Although I am currently thinking of only three, I know there are more similar posts not only on the account I checked, but the @survivorsat____ accounts of other MCPS schools.
The posts I saw stated that it took a long time (up to a year for some) for SROs to reach out to victims of sexual assault to finally help them get justice. This, among many other factors, indicates the inefficiency of the program. Furthermore, the posts also conveyed how SROs failed to de-escalate situations and, instead, many SROs re-opened the wounds of these sexual assault victims. This isn’t a surprise because SROs aren’t trained for this type of work, counselors are. This further reinforces the need to remove SROs and reallocate those funds to getting more school counselors that will truly help students instead of further traumatizing them.
Furthermore, many testimonies that have been collected over the past few weeks prove SROs often act off their implicit bias. This not only relates to how they assume the worst of students of color, but also the implicit bias SROs have towards other minorities. I have heard many MCPS teachers tell me they will not talk about their political and/or religious beliefs because they don’t want to ostracize any single student and take away from their teaching. However, I have heard just as many claims about SROs being racist, homophobic, etc. Now you may say those are baseless/false claims. No. They aren’t when the claims of multiple students corroborate one another and highlight how several SROs let their implicit bias impact the way they treat students. This fact is also another nudge to the need for more counselors who are trained to not let their implicit bias affect their work.”
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Student Obse Abebe's Public Comment on SROs for January 12, 2021 Board of Education Meeting - continued
The only time I ever interacted with an SRO was when they thought I had stolen my own phone and told me to "drop my attitude" when I questioned why they would assume that. Such a microaggression made me, a black female student, feel unsafe around SROs from that point on. I can only imagine what else could have happened to me that day if I didn't "drop my attitude." Would they have written a referral to tarnish my school record and impact how colleges saw me in the future? Would the situation have escalated into an unnecessary and violent arrest? Too many students are being subjected to asking these questions; a reality that further contributes to the toxic environment SROs create in our schools.
There is so much intersectionality in our school district and the SRO program fails most, if not all, intersectional aspects. It’s also essential to note that SROs feed into the School-To-Prison pipeline and that pipeline is a direct feeder into the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). So I urge you all to not let any more students of color, with disabilities, with sexual assault history, whatever the case may be, fall prey to neither the pipeline nor the PIC because of the SRO program at MCPS.
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SRO Public Testimony from Student Louise Melchizedek
Good afternoon and thank you. My name is Louise Melchizedek and I live in Potomac, Maryland. I support the removal of SROs from schools. I had seen the SRO at my school before; she was always there just standing and watching my friends and me, but I never thought much of it. However, in one day all that changed. It was a hot day over the summer as we all gathered in front of the neighboring school, Cabin John Middle School, sitting in the silence of grief, as we, mainly people of color, all shuffled outside to the trunk of our cars six feet away from each other, preparing to start our eight minutes of silence in honor of George Floyd. When the SRO from my high school, Winston Churchill, was joined by 4 other cop cars, the officers proceeded to get out of their cars, walked closer and closer to us, then they stopped. And just watched us, hands crossed or on their belt ready to pull something out, when a white dad walked over and asked them if we were breaking any COVID guidelines or if this was permitted, and they said everything was alright, but they didn’t move an inch. They just watched us. Nothing was wrong, no noise was made, but there were ten cops surrounding us. The SRO program was created to enhance school safety and also to monitor and prevent gang or suspicious activity. We were kids, adults, even teachers from my school, mourning the loss of lives taken at the hands of law enforcement. There is the potential that that could have been me and I would just be another Black body lost by the cycle of police brutality to people of color. The SRO from my school decided to intimidate us and scare us since she couldn’t prove we were doing anything wrong. When we return to school, I must face my SRO, knowing that not only does she see me as a threat, but she will treat and use measures to treat me like one, even when I am not. I don’t see any safety in that.
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Richard Montgomery High School Senior Lauren Payne Public Testimony
I'm here not only as a student, but as a young person of color who knows what it feels like to be in the presence of law enforcement. To be unlawfully stopped at traffic lights and to have police be in our school for our so called “safety.” Police don't make me feel safe. There is absolutely no data to support that police stop school shootings, that they stop gang violence or that they protect students! SROs are not placed in school to enforce MCPS policies, or help the students. Spending $3 million dollars on this program is a waste of money and limits our resources.
Starting my junior year of high school, I started suffering from anxiety attacks in and out of schools. These attacks severely affected my mental health and my performance in school. Many times, when I tried to find a school psychologist, they were not available. When I tried to get to my counselor, I was told by staff and sometimes by my SRO that I was skipping class and that I needed to go back to class. A common argument that I see from people who support this program is how SROs “are mentors to our students” that they are there for us. That is simply not the case. They are not there to support us, to help us or to guide us. They don’t make us feel safe.
We should not be turning to police officers to mentor students. Students need more counselors, psychologists and social workers. We need to start prioritizing students' mental wellbeing. The adults in this county have continued to make decisions and behalf students that do not represent us! It is time that you all listen and take into account our feelings and experiences regarding this issue. We want one thing, for the police to be removed from our schools. Black and Brown students are more likely to be targeted in our school. These officers perpetuated the school to prison pipeline. School should be a safe environment for students to learn and grow. We should not be at risk of being detained for minor offenses that could be solved if we started with helping students instead of policing them.
I hope that you listen to us, that you hear us and that you understand why this is so important!
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Resources
The School to Prison Pipeline Report (OLO, 2016):
The School-to-Prison Pipeline in Montgomery County
Student Discipline and Restorative Justice Report for Montgomery County Board of Education October 5, 2020:
https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BU5RST6EDD44/$file/Student%20Discipline%20201005%20PPT.pdf
2018 Maryland Commission on the School-to-Prison Pipeline and Restorative Practices - Report to the governor and the General Assembly:
http://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/AAEEBB/CommissionSchoolPrisonPipeline.pdf
2019 MCCPTA Resolution on School Safety: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c5dcd5efb22a50647d75583/t/5ddab1e79de5330a90b7bc25/1574613479344/November+2019+MCCPTA+Resolution+on+School+Safety.pdf
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Resources
The SRO Program Memorandum of Understanding Between MCPS and the Police from 2017:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/security-new/Executed%20SRO%20MOU.PDF
The Safe to Learn Act 2018:
https://www.mabe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Safe-to-Learn-Act-Summary-4.16.18.pdf
MCPS Student Arrest Data and the School Resource Officer Work Group 2017-2020:
Understanding the Role of the SRO Webinar on August 11, 2020:
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:22be45de-ad99-422b-b9e8-b6eb1a6542bb
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