Letter to D.C. Mayor Bowser and City Council Supporting Black Youth in Their Call For #PoliceFreeSchools

We write on behalf of Advancement Project National Office and the Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ) to enthusiastically support the call of Black youth across D.C. and Black Swan Academy to terminate the $23 million dollar school security contract between District of
Columbia Public Schools and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and eliminate the $11 million dollars earmarked for school police officers within MPD’s fiscal year 2021 budget. Rather than making continued investments in policing children in D.C. schools, we urge you to reinvest those millions into counseling services, mental health supports, positive behavioral interventions, restorative justice programs, and other proven methods that create holistically beneficial and safe learning environments for young people. These resources are especially important for youth returning to school after isolation and the traumas inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.