Removal of Police Officers from school is welcome

BY PAUL JUNOR

The presence of fully uniformed and armed police officers in schools has been problematic for many people across Ontario. The School Resource Officer (SRO) program has existed in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) for about ten years, until it was suspended in  2017.

In an announcement on Tuesday, July 28^th, 2020, the Peel District School Board (PDDB), as reported in the Toronto Star titled “Peel police to stop program that puts officers inside local schools” has suspended the program. This is a welcome move for many.

Organizations have been fighting for years to have police officers removed from academic and educational institutions. The SRO program started in the TDSB after the death of Jordan Manners who was killed at C.W Jeffery’s in 2007. One of the recommendations of the report was the placement of uniformed officers as a deterrent to criminal activities in schools. In the TDSB, officers from the Toronto Police Services were stationed in forty-five secondary schools during the school day.

Amidst oppositions to the program, TDSB held six public consultations across Toronto from September 20^th, 2017 to October 2^nd, 2017. Many of these occurred in marginalized communities. There was feedback from stakeholders that raised concerns that led to its suspension.

Organization such as LAEN(LatinX, Afro-Latin America, Abya Yal Educational Network) led by co-directors Andrea Vasquez Jimenez and Silvia Argentins Aravaz, have been at the forefront of the fight for #PoliceFreeSchool. They conducted free webinar series on March 25^th, 29^th, and April 8^th and 12^th, as well as a virtual rally on April 22^nd to inform and educate the public about this issue. They see it as a labour  human rights safe public health issue. They are motivated to see a transformative and systemic shifts in two areas:

Shift to investment in fixing the education funding formula to have properly funded schools and have funding be equity led

1. In addition, identifying how much is spent on school policing, and that the funds are divested, shifted away and invested into more preventative and supportive health schools and educational needs.

The announcement that the PDSB will put the SRO program on hiatus is directly due to the lobbying efforts of LAEN. The Regional Police Service will be engaging community consultations during this time. According to the July 28^th, 2020 Toronto Star, Sophia Brown, executive director of the Brown Black Community Action Network of Peel spoke out, “The consulting piece is a good step.” Furthermore, Jaspal Gill, interim director of PDDB stated, “We have heard from members of our school communities, in particular those who identify as black and Indigenous that they do not feel safe when (school resource officers) and other police officers are present.” Furthermore, in the words of PDSB supervisor ,Bruce Rodrigues,”If we determine that the new model does not meet the needs of the students and families we serve, we will not move ahead.”

One of the five demands by the Parents of Black Children, which held the March for Black Students on Monday, August 3^rd, 2020 (www.marchforblackstudebts.com) was in support of LAEN. The demand stated, “We are in solidarity with them in demanding that schools across all educational levels including post-secondary be police-free.”