ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke social justice organization is urging city leaders to begin the process of removing school resource officers from city schools.
The leader of “No Justice No Peace Roanoke” spoke before Roanoke City Council on Monday.
Tatiana Durant said leaders need to change the system to better serve all students.
“What we need to do is take out concepts like SROs and D.A.R.E., which perpetuates systemic racism, and fix them by implementing things that will directly help our underprivileged communities,” said Durant.
She is also pushing for the removal of DARE programs as well. In her address to council, Durant says this program has proven years of ineffectiveness.
In place of these programs, Durant said the money allocated for them should be re-routed to employing mental health professionals and others.
In a statement given to WSLS 10 News Monday, the city school system said:
“Student and staff safety is always our top priority. Roanoke City Public Schools welcomes the opportunity to engage with the community on the best way to utilize our School Resource Officers, as well as look at areas that may need improvement. In the past year, the District has hired additional counselors and social workers to support our students. We will always advocate for more. But we also need School Resource Officers to keep students and staff safe.”
“No Justice No Peace Roanoke” plans to address the Roanoke City Public Schools board of education and Roanoke City Police Department.