SPOKANE, Wash — Spokane Public Schools is beginning the process of creating a safety model as part of the School Board Equity Resolution passed in June.
The district hopes to provide a “proactive, wholistic approach with an emphasis on social-emotional wellness and mental health, while maintaining the important aspects of crisis response and safety management,” according to the SPS website.
The resolution includes specific language saying school district employees will no longer arrest students.
According to the SPS website, the new safety model will involve the same number of staff assigned to schools to help with safety. The new employees will be called ‘Safety and Wellness Specialists.” They will promote “positive relationships with students and assist other school staff with proactive interventions and supports for students.”
The Safety and Wellness Specialists will not arrest students and will perform most of the same responsibilities as resource officers. The specialists will be used instead of resources officers.
The district said it will employ one safety and wellness administrator who will maintain a limited police commission to communicate with the Spokane Police Department and determine when SPD will be contacted for non-crisis issues. District staff will still contact SPD in crisis situations and come up with strategies to maintain high levels of communication and fast response times.
SPS is hosting webinars about the changes Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 28 at noon. Register for the webinars here.
The SPS Board passed the Equity Resolution in an effort to combat and educate district members on racism.
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 also mandates all faculty and staff attend various anti-racism training sessions, and would provide similar opportunities to students, parents, and family members.
The resolution also reforms 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 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.
