Montgomery County Public Schools

According to a study conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, Montgomery County students who are Black, Latino, or low-income are continuing to fall behind during the pandemic. 52 individuals were interviewed for the study. They include students, parents, teachers, and staff within the Montgomery County Public School system.

These students, without adequate support, are more likely to disengage from school and to fall further behind their peers academically. This would widen the educational disparities that were already evident in Montgomery County prior to the pandemic, but which are worsening during this period of online learning. Underserved students will continue to face trauma, housing and food insecurities, and additional stressors in their home lives even after schools return to in-person instruction.
SECURING EDUCATIONAL EQUITY: Learning from the Lived Experiences of Black, Latino, and Low-Income Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Researchers found that these underserved students needed more adult support, more communication, and more resources such as more reliable internet, better meal distribution, and mental health support that is culturally competent.

Read the study and its findings.

On Saturday at a protest calling for the defunding of Montgomery County Police, Councilmembers Will Jawando and Hans Riemer announced that they would introduce legislation that would remove school resource officers from Montgomery County Public Schools. They will recommend that these funds be used to increase mental health resources, including counselors, and nurses.

Councilmember Jawando stated that:

“It’s not just enough to remove the potential harm of the police, you’ve got to invest that money into things the kids need. … It’s our job to say what our police can and cannot do,” Jawando said in an interview on Saturday. “We pass the laws and the executive has to implement them. It’s totally within our rights since this SRO program is totally funded through the police budget, that we would say, ‘Hey, you can’t do that.’”
Jawando, Riemer announce bill to get rid of police officers in schools

Previously, the Montgomery County School Board requested further research into the issue before making a decision. When this issue was brought before the Montgomery County Council, several members were reluctant to make any changes and tabled the discussion until the Board of Education made recommendations.

Very disappointed that @nancy_navarro @albornoz_gabe @Andrew_Friedson @RicePolitics @MC_Council_Katz are on the wrong side of history…rest assured this will absolutely be a major issue come election time and is one of the defining issues in racial justice and social equity https://t.co/QpTCVcKUtr
— MoCo Local (@mocolocal_md) July 22, 2020

Data that is currently available has shown that Black youth are disproportionately arrested at MCPS schools. This correlates with findings nationally.

If you support the removal of police from schools, you should email all of the Councilmembers, as well as the County Executive. Their e-mails are below. If you need a template for what to say, I’ve placed what I sent below as well.

TO: marc.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.glass@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Albornoz@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.rice@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.katz@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov

BODY:

Dear County Executive Elrich, Council President Katz, and members of the County Council,

My name is Vito Anastasia and I live in Bethesda. I’ve lived in Montgomery County for the past five years and have decided to make it my home. In the past few years I’ve been an active member of the local queer community, a member of the LGBTQ Democrats of Montgomery County, and have started MoCo Local as a passion project.

I write to you today to ask that you abolish School Resource Officers from Montgomery County Public Schools. Councilmember Jawando and Councilmember Riemer will be introducing legislation to do just that and I urge you to support it.

We know that Black students make up just 21% of the student population but account for 48% of arrests at MCPS. We also know that Maryland incarcerates Black youth and adults at much higher rates than many other states. Students do not need police in schools. They need more counselors, access to more and better programs for youth, workforce development opportunities, and free, safe public spaces. We have got to stop criminalizing and penalizing students when we do not offer adequate services to help them navigate all of the struggles that they face. We have to end the school to prison pipeline.

I urge the County Council to abolish the School Resource Officer program and instead:

Reinvest funds into mental health programs and resources, including additional counselors
Reinvest funds into more full-time nurses
Invest in harm reduction programs including affordable housing, homelessness services for youth, workforce development, and dedicated free and safe spaces for youth

Police do not prevent crime, they react to it. We have been witness to countless murders at police hands and have seen how different Black youth and adults are policed versus white youth and adults. We have to do better.

Best regards,

Vito Anastasia