CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Chicago's Board of Education voted Thursday to direct public school leaders to develop a new school safety policy that does not include uniformed Chicago police officers.
The unanimous vote from Mayor Brandon Johnson's hand-picked school board members followed hours of often-emotional debate from people on all sides of the issue regarding whether School Resource Officers (SROs) should remain in 39 Chicago Public Schools locations.
Before the vote, board member Rudy Lozano Jr. tried to explain the impact of the plan.
"What will change is that armed, sworn CPD officers will no longer be stationed inside of the 39 remaining schools that still have SROs — only 39 of our 634 schools," he said.
School Board Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland said the move is part of an ongoing effort to improve school safety by addressing the causes of violence rather than having SROs respond to them.
Among those opposed to the move was Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato (38th), who told the board that individual schools should get to decide whether they want SROs.
"I know you're all a bunch of pro-choicers, and that's what I'm a little baffled about: That you're taking away choice from the principals, the parents and so on and so forth," he said. "You're all about democracy, but I feel you're about democracy for convenience."
CPS CEO Pedro Martinez now has until June 27 to present a holistic school safety plan to the board. The decision requires that SROs are removed by the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year.
Prior to the vote, students took over the Madison Street sidewalk outside of Chicago's Board of Education headquarters. Some of their signs read, "cops out" and "no cops."
"We are here today to demand the removal of student resource officers from the Chicago Public Schools," said Essende Gatheright with the Chicago Freedom School. "We are demanding that the money be reinvested and reallocated toward restorative justice tactics that do not criminalize or subject our students to harsh punishment."
Some students say they don't feel safe around police officers. One suggested the SRO at her school doesn't engage, trouble or not.
"These Black, young students are all just sad, hurt and just want this officer to get out of the building so they can be happy and safe. School is supposed to be a safe place," said Hyde Park Academy junior Mikayla Acevedo.
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