School Board To Review Agreement With Alexandria Police

ALEXANDRIA, VA — On Thursday, the Alexandria School Board will hold a virtual public hearing on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Alexandria Police Department. Activists plan to speak and demand school resource officers be removed from schools. The public hearing will occur at 4 p.m.

The current MOU is a school-law enforcement partnership that establishes the scope of responsibilities of the police department and school district. Under the agreement, school resource officers "provide a visible deterrent to crime and shall be visible patrolling the exterior and interior grounds" and work with school personal to resolve conflicts, reduce student involvement with the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and divert youth from courts when possible.

School resource officers are also tasked with assisting school administrators with developing crisis, emergency management and response plans and focus on resolving conflicts. However, the agreement specifies school resource officers shouldn't be involved in disciplinary matters when criminal offenses are not involved.

Community members opposed to the agreement with the police department say the presence of school resource officers in schools disproportionately targets and criminalizes Black and brown youth. Youth organizers from Tenants and Workers United and members of the Alexandria chapter of the NAACP will be among the community members speaking at the public hearing. According to a statement from Tenants and Workers United, youth activists previously spoke with Mayor Justin Wilson and school board members about redirecting funds from contracting school resource officers to restorative justice programs, after-school programs, counselors and social workers.

A number of public comments have been submitted ahead of the school board hearing. Marie Eberlein, who identified herself as an Alexandria resident and wife of a T.C. Williams High School teacher, urged the school district to end the agreement and invest those resources in students.

"There is no evidence that [school resource officers] make schools safer," Eberlein wrote, citing a Brookings study and other research. "So it is extremely disappointing that the school district is considering a continued relationship with the police department. Particularly now that the effects of COVID-19 have reduced city resources and increased student needs, it is important that we make wise choices with the resources that are available."

Another comment took issue with protocols for the interrogation of students, particularly minority and special needs students. Alison Perine and William Olson wrote that their mixed-race special needs son was interrogated by an officer in December 2019 without the parents being properly informed. The parents said the MOU should not be renewed unless, "at a minimum," a detailed plan be presented on ensuring "reasonable effort" to contact parents or guardians before police interrogation of students.

The MOU specifies that if questioning takes place on school premises, the school's principal should be contacted and the school resource officer should allow reasonable time for the parent or guardian be contacted. If the parent or guardian cannot be present for the interrogation, the school resource officer can proceed with the principal or a designee present.

Per an ACPS spokesperson, the school board will not take a vote at Thursday's public hearing. The school board meeting agenda and Zoom link is available here.