The incident that took place in Florida on September 24, was ridiculous. How a 6-year child acting out in a classroom merit an arrest and handcuffs? The presence of a school resource officer (SRO) with early childhood/trauma training and a commitment to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would have kept this from happening.
An MOU distinguishes when disciplinary action should take place and be handled by the school officials. This document is essential when there is an SRO assigned to a school. Proper procedures as well as training are a vital part of the MOU. Without a MOU to follow resulted in an absurdly inept response from the arresting officer.
The mission of an SRO program is to improve school safety and build relationships with law enforcement, not discipline or punish the students. Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU) stands against such injustices that have created the school to prison pipeline. MCU demands MOU’s in all school districts utilizing SROs. These MOU’s will implement respect for the rights of our young students, transparency and accountability of procedures, SRO training requirements, and promotion of non-punitive approaches to student behavior.
Fran Collier
St. Louis
