END ZERO TOLERANCE

Can school policing be reformed?

Sample Policies

• End to Random Searches of Students is a Victory for Entire Community, EdSource, 2019

• School Police Operations to Get an Overhaul in Two Big-City Districts, EdWeek, 2019

• Why School Policing Reform Matters, Endzerotolerance.org, 2017

• Parent's Checklist for SROs in Your Children's Schools, Strategies for Youth, 2017

• Students Not Suspects: The Need to Reform School Policing in Washington State, ACLU of Washington, 2017

• Police Arresting Far Fewer Students After Spokane (Washington) Schools Change Discipline Polices, 2017, The Spokesman-Review

• City School Safety Data Shows Handcuffs Used Disproportionately on Black and Latino Children, New York Civil Liberties Union, 2017

• Youth Advocacy Group Pushes for a Complaint System about School Police Officers, 2017, The Notebook 

• The Right to Remain a Student: Police in California Schools, ACLU of California, 2016

• Get Police Out of Schools, Coalition of Student, Parent Groups Says, 2016, EdWeek 

• Over 100 Education Groups Want To Kick Cops Out Of Schools, 2016, Huffington Post

• Obama Administration To Schools: Stop Using Police To Enforce Rule, 2016, Huffington Post

• As Awareness of the School-to-Prison Pipeline Rises, Some Schools Rethink the Role of Police, Huffington Post, 2015

• School Discipline & Security Personnel: A Tip Sheet for Advocates on Maximizing School Safety and Student Success, National Juvenile Justice Network, 2015

• Philly District Orders School Police to Stay Out of Level 1 Offenses, 2014, NewsWorks

• Avoiding Criminalization in School Discipline: Reducing Reliance on Law Enforcement in Schools, [webinar, powerpoint] Dignity in Schools Campaign, 2013

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Sample Policies

Model Board Policy Regarding School District Police Departments

• Recommended California School District Policies, Developed by the ACLU of California

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Limiting Police Involvement in Low-Level Violations of the Code of Conduct

• Philadelphia School District Police Response to Code of Conduct Offenses School police will not be dispatched to address low level code of conduct violations.

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Prohibiting School Resource Officers from Questioning Students about Their Immigration Status

• Tuscon (Arizona) Unified School District immigration anti-discrimination policy prohibits all employees, vendors, School Resource Officers acting under a contract with the district, volunteers, and visitors at schools or school-sponsored activities from investigating and enforcing actions relating to immigration status. See policy (amended 4/9/2019) and ACLU of Arizona  presentation (Handcuffs on Success)

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Alternatives to Arrest - Diversion

• Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court: Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program Multi-agency program provides an alternative to arrest. Program brochure, MOU and Program Evaluation

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Arrest Protocols that Respect Students’ Rights and Dignity

• San Francisco, California – Student arrests for non-school matters should not normally be made on campus. On-campus arrests should be done in a way that does not violate the student’s privacy.

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Eliminating the Discriminatory Police Ticketing of Youth

• Los Angeles, California – City Council amends Municipal Code 45.04 (“Daytime Curfew”) to restrict the punitive ticketing of youth for tardiness and truancy.  Learn more about this successful campaign (video).

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Reforming Student Arrest Protocols

• Los Angeles, California – LA School Police Department revises protocols for handling incidents that historically have resulted in citations and battery arrests. Learn about the new citation and arrest protocols and flowchart of the new intervention protocols.

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Model Memorandum of Understanding between School District and Police Department

• ACLU of California recommended MOU