Decision follows pressure from local groups to end on-campus police presence
SAN JOSE, CA (30 JUNE 2021) Read the full article After vote to remove police from campus, San Jose Unified equity coalition looks ahead to more reforms
SAN JOSE, CA (25 JUNE 2021) Read the full article San Jose Unified School District ends presence of on-campus police officers
After the success of a nearly year-long campaign to remove campus police from the San Jose Unified School District, a coalition of parents, students, teachers and attorneys are trying to sustain momentum for reforms, calling for investments in mental-health and counseling services to replace law enforcement as a means for dealing with troubled students.
The district’s school board voted 3-2 last week not to renew its $1 million-plus contract with the San Jose Police Department, over the objections of the district superintendent and staff, who had recommended maintaining the partnership. The coalition came together last summer as part of the police-reform movements that sprang up across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis.
The San Jose Unified Equity Coalition and its supporters gathered at San Jose City Hall to maintain momentum behind their reform agenda with thousands of students expected to return to in-person instruction in the South Bay’s largest school district.
“This is a moment for the children,” said Crystal Calhoun, a lead organizer for the coalition who has four grandchildren in the district. “It was a long time coming … It literally took 10 months of blood, sweat and tears. What was once tears of hopelessness, are now tears of joy.”
