To: boe@mcpsmd.org
Subject: Police Free Schools
MCPS Board of Education Members,
I’m writing to you today as a community member urging you to remove police officers from schools in Montgomery County.
Across Montgomery County, students have given public testimony, organized protests, circulated online petitions, and shown overwhelming support for removing police from schools. National, state, and local data show that alternatives to policing, such as social workers and restorative justice, are more effective in supporting students. The data also show the harmful and inequitable impact of Montgomery County’s SRO program on Black, Latinx, and disabled students and confirms that other student supports are more effective in creating a safer school environment.
Bringing police back into Montgomery County schools under a new name and modified procedures is not the correct answer to school safety. Not when MCPS is still lacking social workers, school psychologists, health professionals, and restorative justice practices.
The data — and our county’s values — are clear. In order to improve racial equity, we must invest in our students, not arrest them. Please vote to remove police from MCPS and make our schools safe for all students.
Sincerely,