Counselors Not Cops
FAQ
What about students who “need to be punished” for disrupting classes, or fighting?
Schools are places of learning and when learning, students will make mistakes. Mistakes should never be met with a lens of harsh punishment; instead they should be met with restorative justice approaches that address the root of the issue or conflict that has come up. Students should be met with understanding, empathy, and proactive long-term solutions. Our current discipline systems in schools rely on police officers being called in to deal with student behaviors. Arrests and policing are never the answer. Real justice teaches our students how to recognize their feelings, thoughts, and issues/conflict that may arise. Being arrested and disciplined in schools is more often correlated to race, poverty, and disability.
What about teacher safety during student conflict?
Safety derives from the healthy relationships with other people we invest in. Arrests create trauma and isolation, and consequently foster violence rather than safety. People are safe when they have what they need, when they are not desperate, when they have spaces and resources to heal from trauma, and when trauma is being prevented. Suggesting that there is a threat when teaching and working in schools with predominantly BIPOC youth is racist. We need to invest in school staff and resources that reflect and represent the student body, and support a culture where youth are valued and understood to foster safety.
What IS “justice”, and what does it look/feel like?
Justice can be described as what is needed by the person who was harmed to feel understood and the space to share what they need to move forward. Check out transformharm.org to learn more about restorative justice, abolition, and community accountability.
What if there is in emergency intruder, like a school shooter?
As we saw in Uvalde, police in schools do nothing to deter mass shootings. In fact, they are associated with a higher mortality rate when present during a school mass shooting. In order to keep young people safe, we have to get to the root of the issue and address access to weapons and a culture that turns a blind eye to white supremacy and toxic masculinity. In the meantime, young people deserve to feel safe in their places of learning and not live in fear of police, policing, or the threat of the next mass shooting.
We all want to keep students safe. The best defense against violence in schools has always been a positive school climate and engaged learning community.
Police are unable to prevent harm nor do they increase the overall safety of a school. Instead they bully, abuse, and traumatize young people, and prevent them from learning. Strong communities and positive environments are our best defense against the manifestation of isolation, white supremacy and the pro-gun culture of America.
Not all parents, even from communities of color, agree with removing police from schools. What do you have to say to them?
Click the button below to read our Plan for Police-Free Schools. This plan highlights our demands for schools that support student health, well-being, and dignity while also providing budgetary recommendations on how to make Counselors Not Cops a reality.