Editor's note: Above video was published before the resolution was passed
SPOKANE, Wash. — As conversations about racism receive renewed vigor nationwide, Spokane Public Schools is implementing a plethora of reforms to combat and teach about the issue.
After a lengthy meeting driven by a high volume of public comment, the board unanimously approved the resolution, with some minor changes.
The laundry list of reforms can be broken down into a few categories.
The first is resources. Several portions of the resolution are dedicated to assuring that the district's time, money, staff, technology, and attention are distributed equitably to students of all backgrounds. With coronavirus adding to the district's financial stress, the measure also includes clauses intended to assure any cuts don't disproportionately affect students of color.
The resolution would also mandate all faculty and staff attend various anti-racism training sessions, and would provide similar opportunities to students, parents, and family members.
The third reform is the student experience. This includes expanding multi-cultural organizations to exist at every school in the district. It also means developing a more robust system for students to give feedback.
The fourth reform is related to curriculum. The resolution calls for racism to be discussed more in-depth in schools, to adjust the curriculum to assure that the history and modern mechanisms of racism are taught in classrooms.
Finally, the fifth reform is discipline. These measures include expanded oversight of the more extreme forms of discipline, which research shows are often used disproportionately against students of color. It also calls for an end to the practice of district employees, including Campus Resource Officers, arresting students. That provision is intended to combat the "school-to-prison pipeline," in which children are unnecessarily forced into a cycle of the criminal justice system. It's also meant to prevent excessive violence against students.
The arrest clause generated the most controversy at the meeting. An early version of the resolution mandated the arrests end, but the final version was amended to say the district will work with "CRO partners" as well as the teachers' union to come up with a plan for eliminating arrests.
A variety of commenters took issue with that portion of the plan, though the vast majority of commenters were strongly in support of the entire resolution. Some were concerned eliminating arrests would create unintended consequences, or simply cause a debate that may distract from other important issues like responding to COVID-19.
Others argued the provision doesn't go far enough, and that officers should be removed from schools altogether and replaced with a counseling-focused safety program.