Today CASA joins @JheanelleW and @GabrielAcevero as they introduce legislation to Reimagine School Safety during a live press conference at 10:30am. Stay tuned for more updates!

Happening Now! The press conference on Reimagining School Safety is starting

. @GabrielAcevero’s #PoliceFreeSchoolsAct aims to remove school resources officers from schools. We need to remember that SRO's are instrumental to the school to prison pipeline

. @GabrielAcevero says that School Resource Officers have not been affective in keeping our children safe. #PoliceFreeSchoolsAct would ensure school districts would not be able to contract with outside law enforcement

. @GabrielAcevero "We need to the cycle of criminalization of children, the #PoliceFreeSchoolsAct would do that"

. @JheanelleW’s Counselors Not Cops Act will redirect $10 million/year state School Resource Officer (SRO) Fund towards expanded student mental health services, wraparound supports, and restorative approaches

. @JheanelleW We cannot continue to champion a program that targets Black, Brown and disabled students and say that it is safe.

. @JheanelleW says we need to recognize children's humanity and not view them as criminals

Amity Pope of @pgchangemakers says adverse childhood experiences are traumas that play out in public school students and #COVID19 has only added to that and impact the socialization of students

Megan Berger of @DisabRightsMD says that she's had clients talk about negative police encounters in schools and that they are excited for this legistlation

CASA Member Jorge Benitez Perez: I am a DACA recipient and community organizer with CASA. We support House Bill - 496, which will redirect SROs funds into mental health and youth wraparound services.

CASA Member Jorge: CASA operates a total of 10 in school and afterschool programs in Langley Park, Prince George's County, and the Baltimore region, serving over 600 students per year in direct academic programming, and organizing thousands more youth voices into action

CASA Member Jorge: CASA has heard countless accounts of school resource officers’ using extreme force on Black and Brown students. Students from our programs recount escalating conflicts that arose due to lack of communication with school security personnel

CASA Member Jorge: From 2017 - 2019, CASA saw students from Prince George's County, in particular, have school based issues escalated by SROs that have resulted in students - not directly associated with the incident - being detained by ICE.

CASA Member Jorge: As a 2017 graduate of Prince George’s County Schools, I witnessed first hand how toxic SRO’s were making our learning environment. I was even asked by an SRO if I was born in the United States

CASA Member Jorge: A school is a sanctuary place where I’ve always felt safe and this officer really had me questioning if I would be separated from my family for something that was so minor. It’s really terrorizing for a student to be put in an uncomfortable situation

Mckayla Wilked of @SchoolsNotJails said she was a child that was thrown into juvenile detention for a minor situation. Police officers have no place in the public school system. HB496 proves that #BlackLivesMatter

Amir Ralph of @youthasresource
In 2015 the organization developed a school police report card was designed to gauge police relationships in school. They conducted a survey of students in Baltimore the results showed that students did not want police in schools.

Nursat Tusi with @CAIRNational in Maryland, shares that she supports #CaresNotCops and #PoliceFreeSchools. School is supposed to be for learning and growing not fear.

Brittany Johnstone says there are less than 200 counselors in the Baltimore city school district. We need to reimagine school safety and not use the "tools of the oppressors" to quote Monique Morris

Ongisa "These bills are necessary because our black students make up 80% of arrests and less than half of the school district."

Tori Grace with Youth As Resource, shares more about student surveys that they conducted with Baltimore city students. Results showed they wanted less police and increase resources

Janna Parker is a former educator in Maryland: Throwing a tantrum or fighting with other students are classroom management issues not something they should be criminalized for

Jenny Egan: Children with school offenses leads to repeating offenses and school dropouts. Taking police out of schools would increase school retention and decrease crime.

Learn more about the legislation in this op-ed written by @JheanelleW @GabrielAcevero https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/local-opinions/reimagining-school-safety-in-maryland/2021/01/28/6de4299a-5b38-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html