On October 26, 2015, Ben Fields, a school resource officer, was filmed violently arresting a black teenage girl seated at a desk in Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina for "disrupting" the class.

This was not an isolated incident.

Since the late 1990s, school districts have become increasingly reliant on police to enforce discipline--adopting ""zero tolerance"" policies, not just for weapons or drugs, but for behavior that's seen as disorderly or defiant.

The heavy reliance on the criminal justice system for misbehavior that had previously been handled by counselors and teachers comes at a high cost to students of color.

School should be a place to learn and grow, not a place to be brutalized. Having officers on school premises does not keep children safe. It creates an environment of fear and distrust and sometimes, abuse.

Sign the petition: Stop criminalizing childhood. No more officers in schools.