Press Release Statement.
For Immediaite Release
SanyuGichie
919 706-8869
October 29, 2015
How Many WCPSS Students Have Been Victims of Abuse By SROs?
On Monday, October 26, 2015, the world witnessed a video of a young black female student who attended Spring Valley High School being assaulted by the School Resource Officer (SRO) while sitting in the classroom.. His demeanor clearly shows us why
SROs and other law enforcement personnel should not handle school discipline
issues without intense training.. This incident will no doubt cause significant physical, and mental harm to the victim and other eye witnesses who are public school students.
Officer Ben Fields clearly shows that he is not trained or has limited knowledge in child and adolescence development, as other SRO Officersare not equipped to effectively handle school discipline issues.
The Wake County School Resource officers have a history of using excessive force when disciplining students to include; the Water Balloon Prank atEnloe High School that occurred on May 16, 2013. As a result of the Raleigh Police involvement, eight students and a parent werearrested and placed in police custody, taken to jail without notifying parents. The school administration allowed the students to be placed in police custody and useexcessive physical tactics to control students because the school administration lost control of all students.
SROs use unnecessary violence and physical force, and they are allowed to exercise their power over principals. A second example include, a former student at Southeast High School who was jailed for 21 days after a fight between two teenaged girls. The principal decided to issue an out of school suspension however, the.Wake County School's administration allowed the School Resource Officer to make the final decision of arresting the student, ( Only the officers are allowed to make the final decision.)
School Resource Officers arehired to keep students safe, but each year the officers torment more and more black and brown students without evidence, limits or repercussions. They have more decision making power than parents, counselors and principals, so who will protect students fromviolent SROs that the Wake County School System contracted to be with our children for hours each day?
The NC Education Justice Alliance,Concerned Citizens for African American Children, Inc., join Dignity in Schools Campaign to call on the Spring Valley High School and districts across the country to use positive interventions instead of suspensions, expulsions or ARRESTS and to shift funding from school police to hiring more counselors, social workers and use positive data-driven discipline interventions. The DSC Model Code on Education and Dignity provides these and other alternatives that promote positive school climates.
To eliminate any additional physical confrontations between students and SRO Officers, we are seeking the immediate removal of all SRO Officers in the Wake County Schools who are not trained in child and adolescence development. Wake County Schools must train their students, faculty and administration in positive interventions such as restoration/transformative justice and cultural competencies. We cannot depend Wake County Public School System Officials and the Wake County Board of Education to protect all students.
Therefore, we are seeking to establish parents and students lead review board to oversee the academic and discipline related treatment of black and brown students in Wake County.
Finally, we urge parents to become involved in their child's education and to be fully aware of the current discipline techniques and practices that are used in their child’s school to include; out of school suspensions, in school suspensions and student arrest that occur within your local school districts.