I.-1 20-1335 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 1920-0260 - George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department.
I grew up in (D3) back in 1994 to an immigrant family. We've had 3 family generations grown up in Oakland going to OUSD school- for 3 generations we have seen the lack of care and investment from OUSD. Back around 2008, OUSD decided to shut down Cole Middle school and moved in Oakland School Police. My cousin who was a student at Cole MS ended up on the streets after having two of his schools closed and I blame OUSD for prioritizing funding its own police over student needs and support. OUR STUDENTS NEED YOU ALL TO DO BETTER!!
I URGE THE SCHOOL BOARD TO TAKE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION --> SUPPORT THE GEORGE FLOYD RESOLUTION! I stand with the Black Organizing Project's George Floyd Resolution, because aggressive policing is a threat to the physical and mental health of students, especially for vulnerable communities of color. This is your opportunity to take action to end discriminatory school policing and end a long history of disproportionate treatment of Black students!
I'm an Oakland resident and strongly urge you to pass the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. We need to redirect funds for the current problematic policing program towards things that will lead for positive outcomes, like counseling, restorative justice, and other programs designed to support, rather than punish, students.
I support the distmatling and removal of OUSD police department on all OUSD school campuses. No child should be traumatized or brutalized by police at school at which is to be a safe space for them. There are alternative options that can prevent and desculate conflicts in a more developmentally appropriate and humane way when it comes to our youth.
I strongly support this resolution. The money that is currently spent on school police could be used for mental health services, student support, addirestoriative justice coordinators, or any number of things that are so badly needed by our students. In addition, the presence of police officers on campus can be stressful and re-traumatizing for students who have had traumatic experiences involving the police. Our schools need to be a safe place for students, having a police presence on campus accomplishes the opposite.
We need police out of our schools. This is a fundamental step towards community care and away from police violence and brutality. The George Floyd Resolution was written by organizers who know the needs of their community better than anyone. This resolution has been endorsed and fought for by Oakland teachers, parents, and students alike, as well as being upheld and supported by the broader Oakland community. It directs funding towards support positions (e.g., social workers, psychologists, mental or behavioral health professionals, etc.) that would help and heal students, not vilify or brutalize them. And it would require an inclusive, community-driven process for enhancing student learning, safety, and well-being within the District. This is a beautiful example of community-led solutions that will empower and uplift. Listen to what the people are calling for and eliminate police from Oakland schools!
As an educator and mental health professional working with OUSD youth, I urge you to listen to your students and support this resolution. Replace campus police with therapists, counselors, mentors, culturally responsive curriculum, and anti-racist disciplinary practices to make schools safe for children.
I’m strongly in support of the George Floyd Resolution and I‘m urging the Board to terminate any contracts they have with OSPD and OPD. Please keep OPD out of our schools and do not fund them. That money should be divested into restorative justice programs, special education, counselors, and other programs that work towards a more equitable future. Police do not make our schools safer. They actively make them more dangerous for our Black and Brown students.
As a racial and economic justice organization, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) stands with our youth, families, community and labor allies in calling on the Oakland Unified School District to adopt the George Floyd Resolution calling for police-free schools in Oakland.
EBASE supports the Black Organizing Project (BOP) and OUSD Directors Shanthi Gonzales’ and Roseann Torres’ unprecedented and groundbreaking resolution to eliminate Oakland’s School Police Department because our kids deserve better. We urge every School Board Member to stand with Oakland youth leaders and the Black Organizing Project and vote yes on this resolution today!
We urge your leadership by:
● Supporting the resolution with no amendments
● Supporting police free schools
● No hybrid models or substitutes for OSPD
● No police included in the community-centered safety plan or the committee that will create it
In solidarity with Oakland youth,
Liana Molina
Oakland Campaign Director
I am a longtime resident of District 1 and support the passage of the the George Floyd resolution with the timeline and community process that was proposed by the Black Organizing Project. The police do not need to be at the table for the community process. Black students are being criminalized every day in their schools and should not have to live daily with the fear and stress caused by police. The campaign for police free schools has been going for 10 years, and the time is now to stop the contract with the police department. Delaying or watering down the language from BOP will not be enough. Listen to the countless people of Oakland, the faith leaders, the unions, and the community organizations that are standing behind BOP and the call for police free schools. Justice delayed is justice denied. The world is watching.
I urge you to approve the George Floyd Resolution and take police out of schools. Our school district could use the savings to enhance important supports, such as adding restorative justice counselors; these counselors teach our students invaluable lessons on how to deal with conflict effectively. Hire more nurses, social workers, and librarians! Our students deserve to have a learning environment where they will thrive - not one where they are under the threat of police. Less police, more learning!
I am a Oakland District 1 resident (parent of 2 Oakland school students) and I support the proposed resolution to eliminate the Department and the sworn officers in our schools. Funding should be reallocated toward student support positions such as school-based social workers, psychologists, restorative justice practitioners, or other mental or behavioral health professionals, as the budget supports, to meet the needs of students.
I live in District 1 and strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department, and redirect the funds toward strategies, practitioners, and service as laid out in the resolution and by the Black Organizing Project. I was a teaching assistant for several years in Oakland schools, and am deeply concerned for the ways that policing systems systematically target Black students, in particular, leading to tragic violence, and devastating harassment and outcomes for Black students and families. Black Organizing Project has put forward grounded, powerful, and effective strategies for addressing student, family, and school system needs, and the time to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department is now! Let this be your legacy, we are watching, and the moment is now!
I am a resident of Oakland District 1 and I support the George Floyd Resolution. Police in schools only serve to reinforce the school to prison pipeline, not to help or protect the lives and educations of our youngest residents. Oakland needs to follow the trend of other cities in the United States and pull all policing from OUSD schools and redirect that money as the George Floyd Resolution lays out. Please pass the resolution, thank you.
Please use OUSD's finite resources to meet student needs and help them feel safe -- hire more counselors, therapists, nurses and fund restorative justice in schools. I witnessed an outrageous use of force by OUSD officers against parents and teachers at an OUSD school meeting just a few months ago. It is time to cut funding to school police now.
I am a longtime resident of Oakland who attended OUSD schools for nearly a decade. For the past six years, I have run the school library at Parker K-8 in Deep East Oakland and I support the vital work of The Black Organizing Project. Oakland needs to eliminate police in our schools to reduce trauma to our students and create school spaces that are true sanctuaries. In Alameda County, we are the only one out of 18 school districts that has a police force to police our largely Black and Brown student body. REIMAGINE what safety can be in our schools and move police funds into areas that research and data demonstrate make the biggest difference in the health and wellness of students - restorative justice, social workers, mental health therapists, nurses, and so on. STOP POLICING OUR STUDENTS and PASS the George Floyd Resolution AS IS TODAY.
I am a teacher and community member in Oakland, our kids do not deserve to have police in their schools, especially when counseling, and other social services are lacking. When kids are given opportunities, they RISE. Please ELIMINATE the police services in OUSD schools.
Black children in Oakland are being arrested at disproportionate rates. Instead of maintaining a police presence, Oakland schools should invest in counselors and mental health professionals to help reduce the need for law enforcement. Thank you.
I am writing in support of the George Floyd Resolution to end the relationship between policing and schooling in Oakland. While safety at schools is highly important, police presence is not the way to keep students safe. Presence of police on campuses can create harm, both physical and emotional, for students. I urge the school board to take this money that had been used for policing and move it into providing the counseling, educational support, and wellness resources that students need to stay mentally and physically safe. I urge you to put funding into helping to address the systemic problems of poverty and racism that lead to activities deemed "criminal", rather than investing in police who's sole job is to punish people and cause further harm. Please address the root of the problem, not a violent bandaid solution! I know you care about the students of OUSD, and urge you to support this resolution, showing your care and love for the student bodies of our community.
As an Oakland resident, I fully support this resolution without amendment.
Please listen to your constituents and make the correct decision.
I grew up in (D3) back in 1994 to an immigrant family. We've had 3 family generations grown up in Oakland going to OUSD school- for 3 generations we have seen the lack of care and investment from OUSD. Back around 2008, OUSD decided to shut down Cole Middle school and moved in Oakland School Police. My cousin who was a student at Cole MS ended up on the streets after having two of his schools closed and I blame OUSD for prioritizing funding its own police over student needs and support. OUR STUDENTS NEED YOU ALL TO DO BETTER!!
I URGE THE SCHOOL BOARD TO TAKE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION --> SUPPORT THE GEORGE FLOYD RESOLUTION! I stand with the Black Organizing Project's George Floyd Resolution, because aggressive policing is a threat to the physical and mental health of students, especially for vulnerable communities of color. This is your opportunity to take action to end discriminatory school policing and end a long history of disproportionate treatment of Black students!
I'm an Oakland resident and strongly urge you to pass the George Floyd resolution with no further amendments. We need to redirect funds for the current problematic policing program towards things that will lead for positive outcomes, like counseling, restorative justice, and other programs designed to support, rather than punish, students.
I support the distmatling and removal of OUSD police department on all OUSD school campuses. No child should be traumatized or brutalized by police at school at which is to be a safe space for them. There are alternative options that can prevent and desculate conflicts in a more developmentally appropriate and humane way when it comes to our youth.
I strongly support this resolution. The money that is currently spent on school police could be used for mental health services, student support, addirestoriative justice coordinators, or any number of things that are so badly needed by our students. In addition, the presence of police officers on campus can be stressful and re-traumatizing for students who have had traumatic experiences involving the police. Our schools need to be a safe place for students, having a police presence on campus accomplishes the opposite.
We need police out of our schools. This is a fundamental step towards community care and away from police violence and brutality. The George Floyd Resolution was written by organizers who know the needs of their community better than anyone. This resolution has been endorsed and fought for by Oakland teachers, parents, and students alike, as well as being upheld and supported by the broader Oakland community. It directs funding towards support positions (e.g., social workers, psychologists, mental or behavioral health professionals, etc.) that would help and heal students, not vilify or brutalize them. And it would require an inclusive, community-driven process for enhancing student learning, safety, and well-being within the District. This is a beautiful example of community-led solutions that will empower and uplift. Listen to what the people are calling for and eliminate police from Oakland schools!
As an educator and mental health professional working with OUSD youth, I urge you to listen to your students and support this resolution. Replace campus police with therapists, counselors, mentors, culturally responsive curriculum, and anti-racist disciplinary practices to make schools safe for children.
I’m strongly in support of the George Floyd Resolution and I‘m urging the Board to terminate any contracts they have with OSPD and OPD. Please keep OPD out of our schools and do not fund them. That money should be divested into restorative justice programs, special education, counselors, and other programs that work towards a more equitable future. Police do not make our schools safer. They actively make them more dangerous for our Black and Brown students.
As a racial and economic justice organization, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) stands with our youth, families, community and labor allies in calling on the Oakland Unified School District to adopt the George Floyd Resolution calling for police-free schools in Oakland.
EBASE supports the Black Organizing Project (BOP) and OUSD Directors Shanthi Gonzales’ and Roseann Torres’ unprecedented and groundbreaking resolution to eliminate Oakland’s School Police Department because our kids deserve better. We urge every School Board Member to stand with Oakland youth leaders and the Black Organizing Project and vote yes on this resolution today!
We urge your leadership by:
● Supporting the resolution with no amendments
● Supporting police free schools
● No hybrid models or substitutes for OSPD
● No police included in the community-centered safety plan or the committee that will create it
In solidarity with Oakland youth,
Liana Molina
Oakland Campaign Director
I am a longtime resident of District 1 and support the passage of the the George Floyd resolution with the timeline and community process that was proposed by the Black Organizing Project. The police do not need to be at the table for the community process. Black students are being criminalized every day in their schools and should not have to live daily with the fear and stress caused by police. The campaign for police free schools has been going for 10 years, and the time is now to stop the contract with the police department. Delaying or watering down the language from BOP will not be enough. Listen to the countless people of Oakland, the faith leaders, the unions, and the community organizations that are standing behind BOP and the call for police free schools. Justice delayed is justice denied. The world is watching.
I urge you to approve the George Floyd Resolution and take police out of schools. Our school district could use the savings to enhance important supports, such as adding restorative justice counselors; these counselors teach our students invaluable lessons on how to deal with conflict effectively. Hire more nurses, social workers, and librarians! Our students deserve to have a learning environment where they will thrive - not one where they are under the threat of police. Less police, more learning!
I am a Oakland District 1 resident (parent of 2 Oakland school students) and I support the proposed resolution to eliminate the Department and the sworn officers in our schools. Funding should be reallocated toward student support positions such as school-based social workers, psychologists, restorative justice practitioners, or other mental or behavioral health professionals, as the budget supports, to meet the needs of students.
The police need to focus on a narrower set of tasks. Get them out of the schools.
I live in District 1 and strongly support the George Floyd Resolution to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department, and redirect the funds toward strategies, practitioners, and service as laid out in the resolution and by the Black Organizing Project. I was a teaching assistant for several years in Oakland schools, and am deeply concerned for the ways that policing systems systematically target Black students, in particular, leading to tragic violence, and devastating harassment and outcomes for Black students and families. Black Organizing Project has put forward grounded, powerful, and effective strategies for addressing student, family, and school system needs, and the time to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department is now! Let this be your legacy, we are watching, and the moment is now!
I am a resident of Oakland District 1 and I support the George Floyd Resolution. Police in schools only serve to reinforce the school to prison pipeline, not to help or protect the lives and educations of our youngest residents. Oakland needs to follow the trend of other cities in the United States and pull all policing from OUSD schools and redirect that money as the George Floyd Resolution lays out. Please pass the resolution, thank you.
Please use OUSD's finite resources to meet student needs and help them feel safe -- hire more counselors, therapists, nurses and fund restorative justice in schools. I witnessed an outrageous use of force by OUSD officers against parents and teachers at an OUSD school meeting just a few months ago. It is time to cut funding to school police now.
I am a longtime resident of Oakland who attended OUSD schools for nearly a decade. For the past six years, I have run the school library at Parker K-8 in Deep East Oakland and I support the vital work of The Black Organizing Project. Oakland needs to eliminate police in our schools to reduce trauma to our students and create school spaces that are true sanctuaries. In Alameda County, we are the only one out of 18 school districts that has a police force to police our largely Black and Brown student body. REIMAGINE what safety can be in our schools and move police funds into areas that research and data demonstrate make the biggest difference in the health and wellness of students - restorative justice, social workers, mental health therapists, nurses, and so on. STOP POLICING OUR STUDENTS and PASS the George Floyd Resolution AS IS TODAY.
I am a teacher and community member in Oakland, our kids do not deserve to have police in their schools, especially when counseling, and other social services are lacking. When kids are given opportunities, they RISE. Please ELIMINATE the police services in OUSD schools.
Black children in Oakland are being arrested at disproportionate rates. Instead of maintaining a police presence, Oakland schools should invest in counselors and mental health professionals to help reduce the need for law enforcement. Thank you.
I am writing in support of the George Floyd Resolution to end the relationship between policing and schooling in Oakland. While safety at schools is highly important, police presence is not the way to keep students safe. Presence of police on campuses can create harm, both physical and emotional, for students. I urge the school board to take this money that had been used for policing and move it into providing the counseling, educational support, and wellness resources that students need to stay mentally and physically safe. I urge you to put funding into helping to address the systemic problems of poverty and racism that lead to activities deemed "criminal", rather than investing in police who's sole job is to punish people and cause further harm. Please address the root of the problem, not a violent bandaid solution! I know you care about the students of OUSD, and urge you to support this resolution, showing your care and love for the student bodies of our community.