LAUSD Board Votes to Cut School Police Force, Divert Funds to Black Student Achievement Plan

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Tuesday voted to cut 133 positions from the L.A. School Police Department, ban the use of pepper spray on students and divert $25 million in funding cut from the department to better support Black students.

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“We demand that the school board invest in Black futures and the way to start that is to defund LASPD in full,” one attendee said.

“My question to you is, who’s going to take up the role of school safety if you eliminate all of the security guards, your police force, that is there to protect the students,” another attendee said.

Ultimately, the school board voted to cut 70 sworn officers, 62 non-sworn officers and one support staff member from the LASPD. {snip}

The sworn officers will now be replaced at secondary school sites by school climate coaches — community members who will help mentor students.

A poll commissioned by the district found that a majority of students, parents and district employees supported the presence of school police on campus, but the results also showed that only 35% of Black students felt safe with the officers on campus.

The school board also voted to divert the $25 million in cuts to LASPD to the Black Student Achievement Plan, a $36.5 million plan to support Black students by investing in school climate and wellness, social workers and counselors and professional development. The plan also includes diverse representation in curriculum and instruction and would address social justice, emphasize math classes and allocate individual school curriculum grants.

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