Tell OCPS To Defund Police in Schools NO 1 MIL INCREASE FOR POLICE!

Orange County School Board

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) propose a 1 Million dollar increase for School Police

Join our community in demanding OCPS, divest from their police & properly fund education.

Policing and law enforcement has a longstanding history of violence against communities of color and Black communities in particular, in this country. The recent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and numerous others, sparked the most widespread national uprising in our history. In Florida and across the country, people have been protesting daily to call for the defunding of police, for police-free schools and reinforcing the message that Black Lives Matter.


And yet, we have still seen incidents of police murdering Black people, while heavily armed police and even the military have been called in to respond violently to these protests. As Black and Brown youth prepare to return to school, after months of school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, they want to return to healthy and safe environments. They do not want to return to school with the fear of being harassed and brutalized by the same police force they face in the streets.


In Orlando last year, Kaia Rolle, a 6-year old student, was traumatically arrested by a charter SRO in our community. Last year, a Orange County Sheriff’s Officer violently detained a student at Westridge Middle School. Current Florida law does NOT require police or any form of armed personnel in schools.

Because of incidents like these and countless others, all across Florida, Black and brown students, and their communities, are calling for the removal of police officers from their schools and for a permanent end to the school-to-prison-and-deportation pipeline. Safe schools are well resourced schools, not policed schools.


Are you ready to support them in their fight for safe and supportive schooling environments?


To: Orange County School Board
From: [Your Name]

NO $1 MILLION FOR SCHOOL POLICE

In Orlando last year, Kaia Rolle, a 6-year old student, was traumatically arrested by a charter school SRO in our community. Last year, a Orange County Sheriff’s Officer violently detained a student at Westridge Middle School. Current Florida law does NOT require police or any form of armed personnel in schools.

Because of incidents like these and countless others across Florida, Black and brown students and their communities are calling for the removal of police officers from their schools and for a permanent end to the school-to-prison-and-deportation pipeline. Safe schools are well resourced schools, not policed schools.

Now, we demand that our School Board dismantle the school-to-prison-and-deportation pipeline and make our schools police free. This begins with taking a stance against all funding that places police officers in and around schools. We ask the Orange County School Board to invest in our students, their education, and their futures. We demand that funding is reinvested into restorative justice resources used to improve the quality of education available to all students. Orange County School Board must commit to listening to the demands of students of color and students with disabilities, beginning with the following:

1) We demand that Chairwoman Jacobs & Orange County School Board eliminate the Orange County Public School Police Department

2) We demand that Chairwoman Jacobs & Orange County School Board terminate all contracts with the Orlando Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Office for the services of School Resource Officers

3) We demand that Chairwoman Jacobs & Orange County School Board cease any use of contracts to buy, maintain, or use criminalizing surveillance equipment including, but not limited to, metal detectors, surveillance cameras, facial recognition software, and social media monitoring software

4) We demand that Chairwoman Jacobs & Orange County School Board end all funding for school policing efforts which add to the school-to-prison/deportation pipeline,

5) We demand that Orlando no longer solicits or accepts funds from the federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office or similar federal or state programs to fund policing and criminalizing infrastructure in schools

6) We demand that the money previously spent on policing and surveillance contracts be reinvested towards School Worker: salaries, supplements, benefits, protective gear & tools from covid-19

7) We demand that the money previously spent on policing and surveillance contracts be reinvested towards Alternatives To Criminalization of Students: mental health counselors, social workers, restorative justice programs

8) We demand that the money previously spent on policing and surveillance contracts be reinvested towards Students & Families: after school programs, parenting support resources, student co-governance and participatory budgeting projects, classroom supplies, books, and protective gear and supplies to keep students and their families safe during covid-19 pandemic

The total budget for police in OCPS (School Resource Officers and District Police) is $21,748,589. From 2016-2019,the budget for student support services decreased by $6 million dollars while the budget for police and security tripled. While Black youth make up 20% of the OCPS student population, they make up 45.2% of in-school suspensions, 47.6% of out of school suspensions, and 57.7% of juvenile arrests in Orange County.

Support our youth by signing this petition in support of defunding police within our schools and investing in young people’s demands. Hold our Orange County School Board accountable in ensuring young people have an equitable education and future.