Advocacy Team
Access Living, 150 other organizations, ask President Biden to end the use of Department of Justice federal funding for police in schools
Access Living along with nearly 100 student-led and community-led civil rights, education, and disability rights organizations have signed onto a coalition letter in support of eliminating federal funding of police in schools. If passed, the “Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act” introduced by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Senator Chris Murphy will prohibit the use of federal funds for the maintenance and growth of police presence in schools. The bill also includes a $2.5 billion grant for investments in counselors, nurses, mental health professionals and trauma informed staff.
Access Living supports this bill because students with disabilities are disproportionately harmed by police in schools:
“If they are Black or Brown and have a disability, the odds are higher that a student may have interaction with police. Students with disabilities are three times more likely to be arrested and referred to law enforcement. It’s time to remove police from schools and break the pipeline funneling students from schools into the criminal justice system.”
Chris Yun, Education Policy Analyst, Access Living
You may read the letter in its entirety below.