Restorative justice is a smarter way to address misbehavior
By Hanan Miles, Kanayo Duru and Meghan Salmela |
January 30, 2021 | 4:52 am
All children misbehave. This is common knowledge.
So why were 83% of the student arrests in Montgomery County Public Schools over the last three years Black and Hispanic students? To answer that question, we must examine MCPS’ longstanding and discriminatory Student Resource Officer (SRO) Program.
MCPS has a long history with SROs.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton issued a nationwide federal grant for those police positions following multiple school shootings that year.
The program was officially initiated in Montgomery County in 2002, three years after the Columbine shooting. It was known as the Educational Facilities Officers program.