Letter to Minneapolis School Board Urging Decision To Remove Police From Schools

Advancement Project National Office and the Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ) enthusiastically support Minneapolis School Board Member Josh Pauly’s resolution to terminate the contract between the Minneapolis Police Department and Minneapolis Public Schools and remove police from schools. If we have learned anything from this historic moment spurred by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, it’s that police cannot be trusted to keep us safe. District data reflecting a relentless school to prison pipeline in Minneapolis indicate disparate criminalization of students of color by the police. The School Board has a duty to protect students from a police department whose culture allows for the extraordinary acts that took the life of George Floyd. Officers that roam school hallways are no different from the officers on the streets of Minneapolis and thus, a new vision for safety must emerge from this tragedy.

We are urging the school board to vote on the right decision today.