Doug Cardoza, assistant superintendent of instructional services, said officers play a vital role in helping the school and student deal with issues of child abuse and neglect. During his 16 years as a school administrator, Cardoza said 95% of the times he worked closely with a YSO it was for allegations of child abuse.
“You don’t hear about those things but they play a huge role at the elementary school level,” Cardoza said.
Board member Niessen Foster asked if there has ever been a case where a YSO has been removed for the use of excessive force.
“Not in my seven years here in the district,” Ravalin said.
Board member Juan Guerrero said he recalled an incident in the 1980s where an officer was removed from the schools for excessive force. Instead of rewriting the contract, Guerrero suggested approving the contract and then having staff work on an addendum to require YSOs to attend the district’s cultural competency and implicit bias training, something officers used to do during Stan Carrisoza’s tenure as superintendent.
Macy said there was a solid legal foundation for the addendum as VPD and its YSOs had an obligation to collaborate with site staff, which could include cross training. Ravalin said all VPD officers go through discrimination and harassment training, as well as gender and racial bias each year and a training that is probably more intensive than the district’s own.
“The district spends a lot of money to this and they are part of campuses and be apart of our training,” Vazquez said. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
Guerrero made the motion to approve the contract with an addendum to add collaborative implicit bias training to the list of obligations for YSOs. When the motion died for lack of a second, Gamioan made a second motion to approve the contract as is. It was seconded by Naylor and approved 4-3, with Vazquez, Naylor and Foster voting no.
Other contracts
The discussion about officers on school campuses has not dissuaded other school districts in Tulare County either. On June 30, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved renewal agreements for school resource officers with Tulare Joint Union High School District and Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified High School District totaling $201,646.
In Sacramento, state superintendent Tony Thurmond has created a special task force to look at the role of police officers in schools and the impact that law enforcement presence has on students, learning, and campus safety. On June 30, Thurmond convened a three-part panel discussion that examined: different models of school policing, research and data on the impact and consequences of police officers in schools, and a framework for potential policy recommendations for reimagining school safety.
“These are tough conversations that we have to have,” said Thurmond. “Addressing these challenges head-on will help steer us in the right direction. In looking at these issues, we do have to acknowledge that implicit bias and racism does exist, but doing this work together and keeping our students as the most important focus, will allow us to provide solutions that will not only keep our students safe but will make our school communities stronger. We must take all steps to ensure our students are not criminalized.”
The Task Force on Safe Schools was created in response to the current social climate that is focused on racial justice and putting a spotlight on implicit bias and institutional racism. During the hearing, participants heard reports from State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond and researchers from WestEd and the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. Together, they provided an in-depth overview of data that indicates schools with police are not measurably safer than those without. Additionally, the research review indicated that schools with police had a disproportionate number of students of color arrested and removed from campuses.
The meeting also included viewpoints from law enforcement organizations including the National Association of School Resource Officers, the Richmond Police Department and the San Diego Unified School District Police Department, who shared personal stories about the positive relationships school officers have cultivated with the students they serve.
Prior to the hearing, the State Superintendent provided a framework for policy recommendations including: establishing immediate best practices and requirements for school police; promoting and funding alternative programs such as restorative justice and intervention programs; and creating more data collection, monitoring, and accountability.
“This framework is not one-size-fits-all,” said Thurmond. “More research needs to be done so we can be clear regarding what the best alternatives are to current school police programs. The reality is that districts may elect to keep police officers on campuses, but there needs to be better training for officers and school staff in restorative justice practices. School police officers should not be viewed as or put in the position to be the school disciplinarian.”
At the conclusion of the hearing State Superintendent Thurmond outlined next steps, including future conversations in the coming weeks with state legislators on exploring funding for resources to implement restorative justice practices and training in areas such as de-escalation techniques and crisis management. Thurmond also announced the formation of a committee comprised of task force research partners and police organizations to review data and trends.
An archived broadcast of the hearing can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) Facebook page.
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