DES MOINES, Iowa — The Des Moines School Board supports the superintendent's plan to remove the student resource officer (SRO) program from the district's buildings, but they won't vote on the issue themselves.
Instead, the board will monitor Supt. Thomas Ahart's progress as he works within the district to develop a replacement for the SRO program.
During a meeting Tuesday evening, Vice-Chair Dwana Bradley voiced her support for removing the program.
"The proposal that has been presented to the school board about a change in the school resource officers and our agreement with the Des Moines Police Department reflects months of discussion and work by many in the district as well as the community at large," Bradley said. "It is reflective of input from our students, staff and families. It is responsive to the town halls we held last summer in the midst of a national debate on race and justice, and it is consistent with our work at being an anti-racist organization."
As the governing body of Des Moines Public Schools, Bradley said the board is in charge of directing the superintendent's work through the policies they adopt.
"Specifically out student expectation goals, which we set the direction for the district, and our management limitation policies, which set the boundaries within which we allow the superintendent to operate," Bradley explained.
In January 2019, the board modified the management limitation policy to include a statement that the superintendent "shall not cause conditions or allow environments that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, including the employ of School Resource Officers (SROs) without a professional development structure reflective of the District’s Equity Plan."
Ahart's drafted plan to replace the SRO program "provides the board with his interpretation of this policy segment and his plan for compliance with it," Bradley said.
"The board does not need to continue to go further with the plan itself, having already set its expectations via our policy," Bradley said. "By voting for the plan, we would be communicating that we own the document and therefore are removing accountability from the superintendent for its results and potentially hamper staff's agility to respond to and adjust accordingly."
Bradley said the board entrusts Ahart to move forward with replacing the SRO program and will continue to monitor the progress as it moves forward.
"We as a board will continue to do the work on student outcomes focused governance framework, and you will see these changes as we move forward to strengthen the work that we are committed to do," Bradley said.
The board will continue to have conversations with the community this spring and will help with the plan as needed.
A survey conducted by DMPS found Black students are six times more likely to be involved in the juvenile justice system than their white counterparts. About half of students said having an SRO made them feel safe.
Read the proposed SRO replacement plan below