South Hunterdon for Police-Free Schools is a community organization advocating for the removal of police officers from South Hunterdon schools. The South Hunterdon Board of Education recently voted to continue deploying multiple armed police officers in our schools which will cost $120,000 per year, despite sustained community opposition to the program.

We demand police-free schools in South Hunterdon. We recognize that police do not make students safer, and the presence of the police has been shown to have a disproportionately negative impact on students of color and disabled students. We believe that all students in our schools deserve to feel safe and supported.

We demand that the funding spent on school police salaries be reallocated to support our students by expanding resources for transportation for after-school programing, mental health services, and peer support programs.

Join us by signing on to the demands in this petition and subscribing to the South Hunterdon for Police-Free Schools email list!

DID YOU KNOW:

- There is no data-backed evidence of police making schools safer;

- Students of color and disabled students have disproportionately higher rates of arrest in schools, feeding into the school-to-prison pipeline;

- Police presence is shown to have negative effects on the emotional wellbeing of students of color;

- The use of police in schools has its roots in the fear and animus of desegregation;

- Students with disabilities are nearly three times more likely to be arrested than students without disabilities, and the risk is multiplied at schools with police.

Source: ACLU “Cops and No Counselors” www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline/cops-and-no-counselors
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Further Resources:

Vitale, A., The End of Policing, Ch. 3, The School to Prison Pipeline. Free Ebook: www.versobooks.com/books/2426-the-end-of-policing

What are Class III Officers? https://njfop.org/2016/11/sleo-iii-law/

ACLU: "Bullies in Blue" https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline/bullies-blue

Washington Post: "Scarred by School Shootings" https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/us-school-shootings-history/

Chalkbeat: "Do police keep schools safe? Fuel the school-to-prison pipeline? Here’s what research says." https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/6/23/21299743/police-schools-research

Sandy Hook Promise https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/gun-violence/16-facts-about-gun-violence-and-school-shootings/

Everytown for Gun Safety: "Keeping Our Schools Safe" https://everytownresearch.org/report/preventing-gun-violence-in-american-schools/#a-comprehensive-plan