More than 30 Chicago high schools have voted to redirect money spent on uniformed police officers to alternative behavioral and mental health supports a year after intense student-led protests put a microscope on the role of cops in public schools.
The moves shift about $2 million from policing to restorative justice programs, according to an advocacy group involved in the district’s planning, with a total of 31 high schools choosing to remove at least one of the two officers typically stationed inside their buildings.
“By shifting the conversation towards more holistic approaches to safety, we believe that the new plans will enable schools to use strategies that are more proactive and supportive in keeping our students safe,” Jadine Chou, CPS’ chief of safety and security, said in a statement.
This was the second consecutive year Local School Councils voted on their school police programs – but this time they had other options.
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