This school year was the closest to a typical, pre-pandemic school year for Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). Close, but not totally back – there were still periodic shutdowns caused by COVID-19 outbreaks and there was also the strike.
Yet, big chunks of the year were in-person, allowing Minneapolis school officials to see the results of the decision, made in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, to end their contract with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Armed police are no longer school resource officers.
In the place of traditional school resource officers, whose primary responsibility was to make sure that school grounds and surrounding areas were safe for a couple of hours after school let out, Minneapolis schools have turned to community members to help fill in that gap and foster security.
