The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education on Tuesday approved plans to cut 133 police officers, ban the use of pepper spray on students, and divert $25 million to go toward a Black Student Achievement Plan to help minority students through increased counseling, curriculum updates, teacher development, and other programs promoting inclusion, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The plan will cut 70 sworn officers, 62 non-sworn officers, and one support staff position from the Los Angeles School Police Department, the nation’s second-largest public school system, leaving the force with just 211 officers.
“Investments and behaviors must be different if we want outcomes to be different,” board member Mónica García said in a statement. “Black students, parents, teachers and allies have demanded that we interrupt the school to prison pipeline.”
The diverted $25 million and other money from the 2021-22 general fund budget will create a $36.5 million fund for the Black Student Achievement Plan in 53 schools. Officers at secondary schools would be replaced with a new “climate coach” in addition to psychiatric social workers, counselors, and restorative justice advisers.
Climate coaches will assist staff and site administrators by "supporting a safe and positive school culture and climate for all students, staff, and community members" and will "be from the communities they serve with extensive knowledge and familiarity to strengthen student connection."
“Needed services and supports are made possible by trimming the school police budget,” board member Jackie Goldberg told the news outlet. “I have heard the concerns of Black students who have felt targeted by school police. I believe there are creative ways to keep our schools safe that don’t rely on having an officer stationed on campus.”