This should NEVER happen to a child. Tell Congress to pass the Counselors
Not Criminalization Act!
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION
Dear Friend,
There was yet another violent police attack on a child in school last
week. We are once again enraged.
[ [link removed] ]*TAKE ACTION: Our schools need more counselors, nurses, social workers,
and educators who have the training they need to effectively support
students, NOT cops. Tell Congress to ACT NOW!
[Content Warning: we describe the incident in this paragraph.] This time,
a young Black girl at Liberty High School in Kissimmee, Florida was
literally slammed to the ground by a sheriff’s deputy from the Osceola
County Sheriff’s Department. Witnesses state he attacked her after a
disagreement between students, in yet another wanton and horrifying
example of why cops have NO PLACE in our schools. [1]
As moms and parents we are once again horrified. And angry. And determined
to make sure this does not happen again.
The fact is: we too often assume that the presence of police in schools is
synonymous with safety. It is NOT. And like the police outside of school,
data increasingly shows that police in schools, often called SRO’s (school
resource officers) disproportionately target Black children and push them
into the juvenile and criminal justice system. [ [link removed] ] The presence of SRO’s
literally institutionalizes racism in our schools and we won’t stand for
it.
[2]*SIGN ON WITH US: Putting kids first means counselors, nurses, and
social workers, NOT cops! The time to change this is NOW! Tell Congress to
support the Counseling Not Criminalization Act.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Nationally, Black children are about two
times more likely to be arrested in school than white children, and in
some states like Maryland, the number jumps to three times more likely.
This is not because Black children misbehave more but because they are
punished more often and more harshly than their white peers. [ [link removed] ] This
latest incident in Florida says it all. And this has to stop.
The physical, social, and emotional health of children in schools is
critical to success and safety. Yet, 1.7 million students are in schools
with police but no counselors, 10 million students are in schools with
police but no social workers, and 14 million students are in schools with
police but no counselor, nurse, psychologist, or social worker. Many
states reported two to three times as many police officers in schools as
social workers, and five states reported more police officers in schools
than nurses. [ [link removed] ] This is unacceptable. Even more horrifying is that from
2013 to 2018, over 250,000 children under the age of 12 were arrested in
the US. [ [link removed] ] The stories are heartbreaking. A six year old in Orlando
having a temper tantrum and placed in handcuffs and driven to a juvenile
detention facility. A highschool student slammed down to the ground after
asking if he could call his grandmother to pick him up.
We ALL want schools to be safe, but there is NO evidence that increasing
the number of police in schools actually improves school safety. [ [link removed] ] In
fact, the presence of police is making schools unsafe for children of
color and students with disabilities.
[3]*TAKE ACTION: Our schools need more counselors, nurses, social workers,
and educators who have the training they need to effectively support
students, NOT cops. Tell Congress to ACT NOW!
School counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists are trained
to support children, and in schools where these professionals are able to
provide services we see improved attendance rates, better academic
achievement, and higher graduation rates. These same schools also see
lower rates of suspension, expulsion, and other disciplinary incidents.
The data on this is clear. The presence of school-based mental health
providers doesn't just improve outcomes for students, it can also improve
overall school safety. [ [link removed] ]
[4]*Tell Congress to stand up for students and invest in counselors,
nurses, and social workers, NOT cops!
Districts are regularly forced to make draconian cuts to budgets, leaving
too many schools without sufficient resources to meet the individual needs
of all students. Funneling money into school police and the
criminalization of children is not the answer to creating safe school
environments. In fact, it is causing daily harm.
National and local research consistently demonstrates that the presence of
police in schools serves as an entry point to the school-to-prison
pipeline and disproportionately harms Black, Indigenous and Latinx
students; students with disabilities; and students in need who are
furthest from opportunity. The reality is study after study show virtually
no gains from having police in schools. [ [link removed] ]. There are measurable ways to
increase school safety that don’t promote the school-to-prison pipeline
and have been proven to be successful. These measures include restorative
approaches, more mental health staff and counselors, social-emotional
learning, and trauma-informed care in our schools. The Counseling Not
Criminalization Act is an important step towards shifting resources away
from practices that harm and push kids out of school and toward supports
that help students thrive, keep schools safe, and end the criminalization
of kids in schools. Please add your name now.
[5]Together we can END the criminalization of kids in schools. Tell
Congress to support the Counseling Not Criminalization Act!
Thank you,
- Amber, Anita, Aryan, Beatriz, Beth, Casey, Christina, Claudia, Diarra,
Diana, Donna, dream, Elyssa, Felicia, Gloria, Hanna, Jessica, Jordan, Joy,
Julia, Karen, Keisha, Kelle, Kristin, Linda, Lisa, Lucrecer, Maggie,
Marysol, Monifa, Nadia, Nancy, Nate, Nina, Rocío, Ruby, Ruth, Sara,
Shanette, Sheila, Sili, Sue Anne, Tasmiha, Taylor, Tina, Tola, and Xochitl
References:
[1] [6]Florida school officer body-slams female student into concrete in
viral video
[2][7] [7]THE FUTURE OF SCHOOLING: NO COPS, MORE COUNSELORS
[3] [8]Black children are more likely to be disciplined than white kids
for the same behavior.
[ [link removed] ]COPS AND NO COUNSELORS: How the Lack of School Mental Health Staff Is
Harming Students
[4][5] [ [link removed] ]More than 30,000 children under age 10 have been arrested in
the US since 2013: FBI
[6] [ [link removed] ]False Sense of Security
[7] [ [link removed] ]Study links school safety to achievement, relationships
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