All students deserve to attend schools where they are safe, respected, and supported. School safety means creating a supportive environment where students are free from emotional distress and physical violence at the hands of school police.

We must reimagine what real safety looks like and a world in which our safety is not directly connected to police. We demand a Fresno Unified School District that prioritizes investing in health, safety, and resources for students to thrive, and does not invest in SROs.

Now is the time for Fresno Unified School District to end school policing contracts with the Fresno Police Department. Students demand that FUSD, the 5th largest district in California, be proactive and take action for black and brown students impacted by a legacy of overinvestment in police and disinvestment in education.

Nearly 400 comments to date have been submitted by community members, students and community organizations demanding the removal of police on campus and an end to contracts between Fresno Unified and law enforcement.

Divesting from school police and investing $3 million in student healing and wellness is how we should fund Fresno’s future. Fresno students can feel safer if Fresno Unified School District prioritizes hiring guidance counselors, social workers and mental health professionals who have the training and background to respond to students’ needs and support their learning, healing, and wellness.

By removing police from schools, FUSD will be joining a national movement to support and invest in student health instead of punishment. Fresno can follow in the steps of the Oakland and Los Angeles school districts who have passed resolutions to eliminate school police departments and significantly cut school-based police officers in order to reallocate funds to school counselors, student wellness restorative justice programs, and expanded services for Black students.

It is time for Fresno Unified to fund #CareNotCops!