Council Holds Public Hearing Thursday on Fate of School Resource Officers
A virtual public hearing concerning whether to prohibit the Montgomery County Police Department from having officers in public schools is set for Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
Councilmembers Will Jawando and Hans Riemer sponsored the bill that calls for the removal of school resource officers (SRO). There are 23 such officers stationed in county schools.
Previously, Montgomery County Public Schools’ high school principals told the Board of Education that they were in unanimous support of keeping the officers in their schools.
In a news release, two high school students announced their support for ending the SRO program. Lauren Payne, a student at Richard Montgomery High School, and Avery Smedley, who attends Albert Einstein High School, likened the issue to the national call for police reform.