Chicago Schools Embrace New Safety Strategy

Chicago parents and critics alike are questioning a recent decision by the leaders of Chicago Public Schools to end its contract with the Chicago Police Department and remove uniformed officers from the city’s schools.

Thursday’s vote came after a school board meeting that ran almost eight hours, and included input from teachers, students and city officials.

The Board of Education said in a statement released after the vote that fewer schools in the district were employing School Resource Officers and wanted to streamline their “Whole School Safety” plans for each school in the district.

“We want to be clear that many schools will still employ physical safety personnel like security guards at points of entry, and crossing guards and Safe Passage workers to ensure students can get to and from school safely,” reads the message from CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Board of Education President Jianan Shi. “Some schools will also continue to use physical security tools such as security cameras or metal detectors. Furthermore, each school will still maintain a relationship with their local Chicago Police Department ‘School Sergeant,’ a position assigned to each police district to provide safety support to schools.”

The message indicates that the district has been moving to “a broader, more restorative approach that takes into consideration our students’ mental and emotional health,” over the past decade. “This shift has been effective, resulting in a significant drop in suspensions, expulsions, police notifications, and safety incidents impacting students on their way to and from school,” reads the statement.

School board members said students have told them having officers in the schools was intimidating and “scary,” and supporters of the decision have cited race-based concerns, saying that having the SROs does not make the schools safer, but many parents disagree.

Yalila Herrera has three children in Chicago Public Schools and told Fox & Friends said that not everyone is in agreement with the recent decision, which takes away the opportunity from smaller Local School Councils in the city to decide on keeping officers in schools.

"Now they're not allowing us and giving us the power as parents and teachers and principals to decide what schools truly need," she told the show. “I constantly say my prayers as I drop off my children, and it's very disappointing…We need our police officers to have that bond, that special bond with our students and our staff. We're all a community.”

Denver Public Schools last year reversed their position on having SROs in their schools, with Board of Education members citing the rise in teen gun violence and the increasing number of weapons found on district campuses. The Board had voted in 2020 to remove officers from schools in the state’s largest school district three years ago, following national debate on police effectiveness in minority communities.