With conversations resurfacing about the potential return of SROs, students are pushing back.
SEATTLE — A group of Seattle public high school students voiced opposition this week to discussions about reinstating school resource officers (SROs) on campuses.
In 2020, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) suspended its partnership with the Seattle Police Department, effectively removing SROs from school grounds.
The decision came amid national calls for police reform following the murder of George Floyd. Now, with conversations resurfacing about the potential return of SROs, students are pushing back.
“This is something that both me and every student that I have talked to have been strongly opposed to,” said Leo Falit-Baiamonte, a sophomore at Nathan Hale High School and member of the Seattle Student Union, a youth-led advocacy group.
Falit-Baiamonte and fellow student advocate Fatra Hussain expressed concerns that the presence of police in schools would lead to increased surveillance and a hostile learning environment.
“It actually does feel like school is not a safe place to be,” said Hussain. “It changes it from a learning environment to a place where you’re being watched or you’re under surveillance because you’re a threat.”
The students argue that adding police officers does not equate to increased safety.
Falit-Baiamonte cited studies that suggest SROs can escalate tensions in schools rather than prevent violence.
“Most studies show that when SROs are in schools, violence increases and students are scared to come to school,” he said.
The students’ comments come amid renewed attention to school safety following the shooting death of Amarr Murphy-Paine, a student who was killed on the Garfield High School campus.
His family filed a lawsuit against the district this week, claiming that more decisive action from school staff could have prevented the tragedy.
Garfield previously had an SRO before the 2020 policy change.
In the wake of the shooting, the Garfield High School Parent Teacher Student Association has called for increased safety measures, including reinstating and funding the SRO program.
However, members of the Seattle Student Union are organizing a campaign to oppose such efforts, advocating instead for preventive measures that don’t involve law enforcement.
“We need preventable solutions, not just criminalization and ways to stop things after an incident occurs,” said Falit-Baiamonte. “We have to hold our leaders accountable.”
Seattle Public Schools has not made a final decision on whether to bring SROs back to campuses.
KING 5 reached out to Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Police for comment and are waiting to hear back.
