MPS still working privately on late plan to return police to schools
Skating past a Jan. 1 deadline from state lawmakers to place 25 police officers in Milwaukee Public Schools, school district leaders say they're still working on a plan.
It's unclear whether the district or Milwaukee Police Department will face consequences for missing the deadline on the controversial state requirement, which lawmakers imposed on Milwaukee as part of a June state law that boosted local government funding.
The law, Act 12, didn't spell out any penalty. The most likely consequence would be that someone could sue Milwaukee officials for failing to comply, according to an analyst at the state's Legislative Reference Bureau.
The law also didn't provide funding for the officers, instead mandating that MPS and MPD agree on a contract to cover the estimated $2 million cost of 25 school resource officers, defined as Milwaukee Police Department officers who are assigned to work full time at schools. That contract will need approval from the school board.
Milwaukee school board members and community organizations opposed the state requirement when it was presented by Republican lawmakers last year, but Gov. Tony Evers approved it as a part of a deal that allowed local governments to raise sales taxes.
MPS says the plan for school resource officers is coming
MPS officials said in a statement that they "look forward" to submitting a plan to the school board for review, but did not say when that would be. It's not listed on school board agendas for this week.
According to the district statement, MPS is collaborating on the plan with MPD and "stakeholders," which include MPS staff, their unions, unnamed student groups, and community members. As part of their research, district officials took trips to observe school resource officer programs at public schools in Washington, D.C. and several sites in Georgia: Atlanta, Fulton County and Bibb County.
Heather Hough, chief of staff to Chief Jeffrey Norman, previously told the Journal Sentinel the department was "working toward" a goal of having a contract in place by Jan. 1. She didn't immediately answer questions last week about where things stand.
Hough previously said the school resource officers would be chosen "based upon those who want the role, and those who would be the best fit for the job duties determined by MPS." The state law requires the officers to complete a 40-hour course from the National Association of School Resource Officers.
MPS hasn't answered questions from the Journal Sentinel about how the officers will be funded, how they will be trained or what their roles will be. They have not discussed their plans in public board meetings.
What the district did say is that officials are working on a plan that "redefines the previous role of the school resource officer."
After pushing police out of Milwaukee schools, some resist new plan
MPS removed school resource officers from inside its schools in 2016, in response to complaints about police unnecessarily citing and arresting students for incidents that could have been handled as disciplinary matters by the district.
It then moved to having police only outside the district's buildings, a practice that ended in 2020 after local protests calling on MPS to cut all contracts with police.
Studies have found that police in schools lead to more arrests and disciplinary actions against Black students, male students and students with disabilities. In Milwaukee, Leaders Igniting Transformation, a Wisconsin youth advocacy group, published reports in 2018 and 2022 that outlined higher rates of police referrals and suspensions locally for the same groups.
Leaders Igniting Transformation, known as LIT, has continued to stand against police in schools.
"This is not only a way to criminalize young Black and Brown students and students with disabilities, but also an attack on public education," Cendi Tena, co-executive director of LIT, said of the state mandate.
Tena said LIT met with MPS Superintendent Keith Posley in December but left with more questions than answers. She said there were funding questions and said it was unclear how the police department would find staff for the positions.
"Where is this money coming from?" Tena said. "We know MPS has already undergone cuts, that this district is struggling with enrollment, struggling to fill positions, and we can't afford to pick up the tab for this mandate."
Some Milwaukee School Board members have expressed similar concerns. The district is considering asking voters to pass a referendum this spring as MPS faces a budget crisis.
Tena said she was told that MPS would be convening more meetings with community groups and residents, but she hadn't heard the details. She said LIT will advocate for ways to "mitigate harm" of any school resource officer program, including educating students on their rights and encouraging MPS to rely more on restorative justice programs.
The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association has also opposed the state requirement, noting that the district already has non-police safety assistants.
More: How restorative justice works at a MPS school, a decade in
Contact Rory Linnane at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS late on plan to place police school resource officers in Milwaukee
