NEA reverses policy on school policing
On July 5, Education Week reported on the NEA's adoption of "a new policy statement calling for an end to the 'criminalization and policing of students'—but stopped short of urging the removal of armed officers on school campuses." The article stated: "During the NEA's representative assembly this week, delegates voted by a wide margin—93 percent in favor—to approve the policy statement, which advocates for restorative justice, culturally competent professional development, family and community engagement, and the elimination of inequities in student discipline and the policing of students on campus."
The new policy grew out of a task force created by the union last year, and essentially reverses its previous policy of favoring school resource officers (SROs). In a June 23 article posted on The 74 website, Mike Antonucci wrote: "While the policy does not call for an outright ban on police in schools, it makes numerous arguments against their presence, and demands limits on the growth of the school resource officer workforce."
Antonucci explains that the NEA now views school policing "as a racial justice issue, stating that 'Native, Asian, Black, Latin(o/a/x), Middle Eastern and North African, Pacific Islander, and Multiracial students, including those who identify as LGBTQ+, have disabilities, and/or are English language learners are in greater jeopardy in schools with a presence of police and law enforcement." He adds that the union's communications policy "requires the listing of these groups in this exact order, rather than using a collective term," apparently to make clear that only white students whose native language is English are unlikely to be targeted in some unjust way by police in school settings.
The NEA report notes specifically that "the presence of uniformed, armed law enforcement and security personnel on school campuses has the effect of criminalizing students. The task force asserts that 'there is no proof that SROs prevent school shootings,' and that 'SROs have shot and killed students, tasered students, tackled and punched students in the head, sprayed students with pepper spray, choked students, thrown students to the ground, and thrown students against walls and lockers.'" One must assume, based on the wording of the NEA's new policy, that none of the students allegedly so treated were white English speakers.
Antonucci writes that, even as the NEA's policy on school policing has changed, it also contends that schools are unsafe for NEA members. "An article from March 2022 cites a study claiming 'one-third of teachers report that they experienced at least one incident of verbal harassment or threat of violence from students during the pandemic.'"
Antonucci allows that the task force report makes "one small nod toward accountability," noting that educators tend to use SROs to handle student misconduct. He quotes the report as stating: "Most often, it will be educators — administrators, counselors, teachers, ESPs, and other adults on campus — who precipitate the criminalization of school behavior."
The NEA stopped short of admitting that violence against teachers by students is a major factor in teacher decisions to leave the profession.
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