Over this past summer, Cincinnati witnessed one of the most powerful uprisings in its history in response to the horrible murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by the American police, and the racism within and enforced by the Cincinnati Police Department. During the summer’s budget hearings, hundreds upon hundreds of Cincinnati residents demanded the defunding of the police. Now, despite the will of the people, Cincinnati Public Schools is actively trying to “strengthen their relationship with the police”. This is despite the clear evidence that the police disproportionately punish and criminalize Black students in CPS schools, with Black students making up 85% of all referrals to the police despite only making up 63% of the student population. In addition, all uses of punitive discipline (ISS, suspensions, expulsions) are disproportionately used against Black and brown students, which is especially harmful when considering that students who have been suspended or expelled are THREE TIMES as likely “to come into contact with the juvenile probation system the following year than one who wasn't”. These punitive and criminalizing systems not only enforce but expand the presence of the school-to-prison pipeline in our schools.

It is for this reason that Young Activists Coalition is demanding that the CPS School Board remove police officers, metal detectors, and punitive discipline systems from school campuses, and replace them with systems of Restorative and Transformative Justice and an increase in funding for counselors, psychologists, and social workers in our schools. We ask for YOUR support by signing this petition in order to prove to the School Board that this is what the community wants and that the community will no longer allow the criminalization of our children.

Summary of data:

• Black students makeup 63% of CPS student population, but are given:

• 83% of all In-School Suspension

• 86% of all Out-of-school Suspensions

• 87% of all expulsions

• 85% of all police referrals.

• In the state of Ohio, Black girls are arrested at 3x the rate of their white counterparts

• Schools with police have “3.5 times as many arrests as schools without police”

• Students who have been suspended or expelled are THREE TIMES as likely “to come into contact with the juvenile probation system the following year than one who wasn't”

Who is Young Activists Coalition?: We, the young people of Cincinnati, founded Young Activists Coalition to provide Junior High and High School students an outlet to fight for a better and more equitable world for all people. YAC understands that the world we strive for must include an economy and a government that works for the people. We are willing to utilize any and all non-violent action to achieve this change-including protests, sit-ins, educational events, town halls, or other non-violent methods that will create justice. YAC approaches this fight with an intersectional lens. We demand justice for all marginalized communities, for communities of color, for the queer community, for religious and non-religious communities, for the disabled community, and for those lacking socioeconomic privilege. We, the members of YAC, are optimistic that we can and will build a better world and a better tomorrow for us all.