San Rafael ends school resource officer program
San Rafael CA Sept 20 2020
After months of pressure to cut ties with police, the San Rafael Board of Education voted unanimously this week to discontinue its school resource officer program and remove officers from district campuses.
There were passionate pleas from both students and staff to remove the armed police officers from our schools and we have decided to do just that said the SRBOE.
After months of pressure to cut ties with police, the San Rafael Board of Education voted unanimously this week to discontinue its school resource officer program and remove officers from district campuses.
The resolution approved Monday terminates an agreement with the San Rafael Police Department to provide the officers, often referred to as SROs, at San Rafael High, Terra Linda High, Madrone High and Davidson Middle schools. The SRO role was designed to build a relationship and trust between youth and law enforcement.
“We heard from many of our students and our community members who spoke passionately that having SROs in our schools is not what is best for students,” Board President Maika Llorens Gulati wrote in an email.
“Students of color, in particular, haven’t had positive experiences,” Gulati said. “At this point, although we really appreciate our San Rafael Police Department and the City of San Rafael for the funding they have provided, we believe the best decision for our district is to discontinue this service.”
