Following weeks of demands to remove school resource officers from Cincinnati Public Schools, the Young Activists Coalition have created a petition to gauge the community’s response.
According to data in the petition from the Civil Rights Data Collection, 63% of CPS students are Black, but Black students make up 85% of the referrals to police within schools. The Young Activists Coalition wants police and punitive discipline removed from schools and funding increased for counselors, psychologists and social workers.
Vice President Owen Derico said the school board hasn’t taken any measures when it comes to the issue at hand.
“We’re going to let them see what the community actually thinks and provide a way for the community to make their voices heard if they aren’t in a position where they can sign on to meetings and speak directly,” Derico said.
President Yousuf Munir said the school board wants to hear from the community, but that they don’t do enough outreach.
“This is also kind of us being like, ‘Hey, we’ll show you what the community wants,’ ” Munir said.
So far, more than 240 people have signed the petition.
On Wednesday, the school board adopted an anti-racism policy to create processes to identify racism within the school district. Board members have also been meeting with Young Activists Coalition members about their demands.
