Meeting Time: June 24, 2020 at 4:00pm PDT
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Agenda Item

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.

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    Atha Davis over 4 years ago

    As a resident of Oakland and former volunteer at one of our high schools, I urge the board (especially looking at Jody London and Jumoke Hinton Hodge) to support and adopt the George Floyd Resolution as is. Schools should be an environment that fosters learning and care, not fear. We need to remove OSPD and reinvest in mental health services, social workers, and restorative justice practitioners.

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    Emilie Funge over 4 years ago

    I am an Oakland resident and I strongly urge you to adopt the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department with no amendments or changes. The community overwhelmingly supports this resolution.

    OUSD must follow the leadership of Black Organizing Project and eliminate the contract with Oakland School Police Department. Police do not belong in our schools. Police do not make our students safer. Police criminalize our students, particularly Black and Brown youth, and fuel the school-to-prison pipeline. Re-invest the $2.3m+ budget in restorative justice, special education, and mental health services. Listen to community leaders and pass this resolution.

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    Alicia Lund over 4 years ago

    I urge the board to pass the George Floyd Resolution as is with no amendments or changes. It's important that OUSD be a leader in rethinking safety in schools and puts the well being of the students first. I strongly support the Black Organizing Project's vision for school safety.

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    Deleted User over 4 years ago

    This board has an opportunity to enact real change in our Schools by passing the George Floyd Resolution and eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department. By acting with the community, including students, parents, teachers and organizations like the Black Organizing Project the board can be a part of rebuilding trust and safety in our schools. Funds saved by the elimination of the department needs to be reinvested in resources that improve the well being of the students in Oakland. These changes need to happen before the start of the new school year. Reopening without these changes will miss a crucial opening for students to see much needed change in their schools.

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    Ashleigh Halverstadt over 4 years ago

    I urge all board members to support the George Floyd Resolution as written and move quickly to abolish school police before the new school year begins. The community will not tolerate the dehumanization and criminalization of our Black and Brown children and youth by OSPD a day longer. I strongly support the Black Organizing Project's vision for school safety. Schools should be 100% police free, and police should not be involved in developing the new safety plan. Please do not drag negotiations out through the end of the year. I know reopening schools in the midst of COVID-19 is challenging, but it also provides an opening for structural and cultural change. Please pass the resolution and do whatever it takes to eliminate police by August. If the physical and social-emotional safety of your own children were at risk, you would never tolerate a delay.

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    Deleted User over 4 years ago

    We need to immediately terminate the contract between OUSD and OPD as well as any other law enforcement agency, and then to divert that money to programs that will support conflict resolution in line with OUSD's values on racial and restorative justice. There is no need for OUSD to have its own police force; as an educator in OUSD, we are always trained on de-escalation, trauma informed practices, and restorative justice. By its very nature, calling OSPD on students escalates a crisis.
    If an emergency arises, (unarmed, community oriented) emergency responders can be dispatched from emergency services. Having an in-house police department undermines OUSD's commitment to racial justice and restorative justice, and normalizes our Black and Brown students to an ever-present, authoritarian police force. The history of school police departments dates back to the time of school integrations, and OSPD has been poisoned from its inception by these beginnings.

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    Ben Steel over 4 years ago

    100% in support of removing sworn officers from schools and re-allocating those funds towards other student support roles