Minneapolis Public Schools Ends Contract With Police In Wake Of Protests

About 43% of public schools in the U.S. had law enforcement officers carrying firearms on campus between 2015-2016, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

People raise their hands and kneel down as they protest at the makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Getty Images
People raise their hands and kneel down as they protest at the makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Getty Images

Minneapolis Public Schools has ended its relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of widespread protests against George Floyd’s death at the hands of police. 

The city’s school board voted unanimously to end the district’s contract with the MPD, which provides officers who work on campuses known as school resource officers. The district’s superintendent must devise a new plan for students’ safety by August 18, the Star Tribune reported

“We cannot continue to be in partnership with an organization that has the culture of violence and racism that the Minneapolis police department has historically demonstrated,” school board member Nelson Inz said. “We have to stand in solidarity with our Black students.”

In Minneapolis, 90% of students in an online survey with at least 1,500 responses supported ending the contract with police, according to The Guardian.

The city’s teachers union put out a statement last week in favor of ending the contract with MPD. The union recommended using the money spent on law enforcement to instead support mental health services and education support professionals for students.

“Every student in Minneapolis, no matter the color of their skin or where they come from, deserves to feel safe and welcome in their neighborhood school,” the statement read. “Through the actions of the past week, the officers of the Minneapolis Police Department have demonstrated that they do not share that value with the educators, families, or students of Minneapolis.”

The union added: “The officers of the Minneapolis police department have become symbols of fear to the children those officers were sworn to serve and protect.”

School board member Josh Pauly tweeted about the proposed resolution last week, writing that the district “cannot align itself with MPD and claim to fight institutional racism.”

“We cannot partner with organizations that do not see the humanity in our students,” Pauly wrote. “We cannot be neutral in situations of injustice.”

About 43% of public schools in the U.S. had law enforcement officers carrying firearms on campus between 2015-2016, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The Guardian reported that the installation of police officers in schools nationwide became a practice in recent decades as school shootings, which mostly young white men have carried out, have risen. Pauly told the outlet that he has discussed how to craft a similar resolution with school board members in states including Washington, Oregon, New York, and North Carolina.

Earlier Tuesday, a few hundred people including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) gathered outside of the district’s headquarters to advocate for the move, according to the Star Tribune.

“Police brutality doesn’t just happen in the streets here in Minneapolis. It happens in our schools,” Omar said. “Enough is enough.”

The Star Tribune reported that the city’s Park Board is also moving to terminate its relationship with the police department.