Seattle school board rejects cops in classrooms proposal

Seattle, WA – On Wednesday, October 8, the Seattle Public School Board voted 5-2 to reject bringing cops into Garfield High School halls and classrooms. The school board was considering assigning a Seattle Police Department officer to Garfield High School for a one-year pilot program.

The Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression organized with Seattle students and parents to demand no cops in classrooms. This was in reference to part of the proposal which included cops teaching students in classrooms about multiple topics, including students’ “legal rights when engaging with law enforcement.”

At the board meeting, Garfield High School parents spoke up powerfully against the proposal. Emijah Smith, a Black mother and Garfield alumna, said, “Families appreciate having them [cops] on the campus and around but don’t bring them into school when you know we are working on the prison pipeline. You know that’s the cause that’s going to send our kids to prison.”

Amanda Thornewell shared how “the school leaders [used] the police to stop my son from talking about swim team hazing.” She added, “this was the message that my son received from the SRO [school resource officer] and the Garfield leaders: we want you to stop talking. It’s not in your best interest. You will be expelled.”

The Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression branch chair Johnathan Toledo stated, “I’m directly opposed to this SEO pilot program because, as it stands, it does not let students, faculty and parents have control of what officer will be selected, and it doesn’t let students, faculty and parents to decide whether they want to continue or terminate the program.”

Toledo uplifted the demand for community control of the police, stating, “Don’t use the death of Amarr Murphy-Paine as an excuse to put cops in schools in direct contact with students and not give the students, faculty and parents to have any control over what they can and can’t do.”

This vote came after months of organizing and advocacy by the Seattle Alliance, including collaborating with the progressive pro-education Keep Your Promise Coalition, which includes the Seattle Student Union and Seattle Education Association, the Garfield Black Student Union, and Garfield parents, including members of the Garfield PTSA and Garfield parent Arron Murphy-Paine.

The school board’s rejection of this policy is a major political defeat for pro-police Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, both of whom strongly advocated for putting cops back into schools. In contrast with the limited scope of the proposal, Mayor Harrell has advocated for cops in up to four schools with as many as 15 officers.

In her comments before her vote, Board Director Michelle Sarju advocated for Black kids and said, “We are not standing on equal ground. [There is] too much data that says having a police officer in a school creates more disproportionality, not less.”

While Seattle still needs to increase investment in school staff and community organizations that are doing effective violence prevention and justice work, this vote was a positive step in the right direction and a victory for the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

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