Los Angeles Unified School District, which teaches more than 600,000 students, is the second largest in the US. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced in August of 2022 that they would no longer be able to station armed officers inside schools. Residents are still engaged in a heated debate over this change.

The removal of armed police was partially the result of public sentiment. Particularly in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, many groups, including United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), expressed concern that seeing police officers in their schools would cause anxiety to minority students who feared racial profiling. Urban Justice League stated in their campaign for Police Free Schools, "there is a growing body of research that illustrates that the presence of police in schools criminalizes Black, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and disabled students."

Another reason for the decision was the dramatic $25 million reduction in LAPD's budget in 2020. Although subsequent budgets have increased police funding, the department has been reduced by about 140 police officers since that time (leaving approximately 230 remaining). 

LA School Police Union president Gil Gomez says that they have seen an increase in school violence. He calls it "a result of not having officers on campus… a police car in front of the school to show that there was an officer on campus, or two, to make sure that kids were safe."

Some people believe that removing armed police from LA schools was the right thing to do. They say that investing more money in mental health professionals and increasing funding to minority-focused programs such as the Black Student Achievement Plan will ultimately result in a much safer and healthier student environment. 

Others do not agree with police being removed from the schools. They are especially concerned about the possibility of an uptick in school violence, citing incidents such as a 14-year-old student who was found with a loaded handgun inside Fountain Valley High School.

The question up for debate: Should #ArmedOfficers have been removed from Los Angeles #PublicSchool campuses?