DENVER (AP) - Denver Public Schools will phase out its use of police officers in school buildings by the end of the next school year because of concerns about how minority students are treated by the police.
The school board voted unanimously Thursday night in favor of a resolution that requires the number of school resource officers to be reduced by 25 percent by the end of 2020 and completely gone by June 4, 2021.
School guards will still provide security. The money saved by not paying police will be spent on hiring counselors, social workers and staff who specialize in alternative ways of dealing with disciplinary problems.
The resolution noted that about 4,500 students were ticketed or arrested by police officers in the district between the 2014-2015 and 2018-2019 school years in the district, the vast majority of them black or Latino between the ages of 10 and 15. It said most of those cases could have been handled by school officials or community resources instead.
Opponents defended school resource officers who have tried to work with students and said the decision was rushed. The resolution was introduced last week amid police protests. But advocates have been pushing for the change for years.
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