Oakland School Board Pressured to Remove District's Internal Police Force

Protestors Against Police in Schools in East Oakland, June 23, 2020
Photo credit Carrie Hodousek/ KCBS Radio

Young people are putting the pressure on the Oakland School Board to remove the district's internal police force.

As protests against police brutality continue across the Bay Area, students in East Oakland are demanding the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) remove police officers from classrooms.

Nadia Brooks is a recent graduate of Skyline High School and told KCBS Radio that law enforcement has been seen as the enemy.

“They have definitely stood in between us and what we need,” she said. 

Brook explained that she remembers feeling uncomfortable around officers on campus.

“There’s this notion that it’s someone to be afraid of, given that they’re in our neighborhoods and they’re treating us like this,” she said.

Students are putting the pressure on @OUSDNews. They’re marching down MacArthur Blvd in #Oakland to demand the district remove school police. The board will vote tomorrow at 4 p.m. OUSD is the only school district in Alameda County with its own police force. @KCBSRadio pic.twitter.com/OMYGPRZQYY

— Carrie Hodousek (@CarrieHodousek) June 23, 2020

OUSD currently spends more than $6 million each year on its police department, which includes 10 officers and more than 50 unarmed campus security officers. It’s the only school district in Alameda County with its own police force.

Opponents argue school officers have the right training to respond to youth. Meanwhile, supporters say they’d rather replace cops with mental health counselors.

“I just wanna see more counselors, ya know, things that actually do benefit our students,” one student activist said.

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