Since the summer of 2020, the nation has been re-examining the role of #police in our society. This includes their presence in schools. The Washington, D.C. City Council, decided in 2021 that D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) would reduce the number of School Resource Officers they employ each year until 2025, at which point they would be phased out completely.

Black Swan Academy in Washington, D.C., led the push to eliminate armed school resource officers employed by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and replace them with unarmed security guards under DCPS oversight trained in de-escalation, conflict resolution, and anti-racist cultural competency. 

David Grosso, who was at the time a member of the Washington D.C. City Council believed that this would be a positive change for District of Columbia schools. He said, “our current staffing of schools indicates that we are more interested in policing our students than we are in ensuring their academic success or supporting their mental and behavioral health.”

Samantha Paige Davis, executive director of Black Swan School, is not convinced that police officers are equipped to build trust and positive relationships with students. Davis wants D.C. schools to divert funds previously earmarked for the security officer budget and use them instead to fund violence interruption and health care programs. 

Some people believe that a police presence in schools makes students feel unsafe and fearful that they are being profiled. They think schools would be better served by using unarmed guards who are police department employees. They would be a less threatening presence that would create a positive school environment by building relationships with students over time. 

Others believe that in the current climate of in-school violence and shootings, police officers are needed in schools now more than ever. They consider School Resource Officers (SROs) to be more skilled in communicating and working with students than the average patrol officer. They maintain that a friendly police presence builds trust between police and the students they protect. It also results in quicker response times during emergencies. Therefore, many argue that removing police officers is not the solution. 

The question up for debate: Should the D.C. School System be responsible for managing their security plans independent of the police?