Northside College Preparatory High School on the city’s Northwest Side has voted to remove the Chicago Police Department’s presence from its campus for the 2020-2021 academic year.
The local school council made the decision Tuesday night to remove its school resource officer assigned by CPD, making them the first Chicago Public Schools institution in the district to do so.
In a press release, CPS Alumni for Abolition call the near-unanimous vote a "meaningful step" to make students feel safe at school.
"We believe that this decision will set a precedent for other Chicago Public Schools’ LSCs to vote for the removal of SROs from their halls. Police officers do not belong in schools; their presence reproduces the threat of police violence that is inescapable for Black and brown youth."
Chicago Public Schools said in a written statement that schools are authorized to decide individually if they want to keep their SROs or move in a different direction.
"Chicago Public Schools believes that school communities and Local School Councils are best suited to determine if SROs should be assigned to their schools,” writes Emily Bolton, spokesperson for CPS. “The district fully supports Northside College Prep's decision and will work with them to develop a safety plan without SROs that meets the needs of their unique school community."
The vote comes one month before CPD’s $33 million contract with the district is scheduled to end.
