U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas & Judge Nash Join to Push for State $$ for Student Needs Not More School Police

U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas and LA County Children’s Court Presiding Judge Michael Nash, plus representatives of several community and civil rights groups, will hold a press conference at 2 pm on Monday on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall to urge the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District to direct several million in funds toward “research-proven programs that help keep students in school,” as originally intended, rather than reallocating those same funds to provide more $$ for school police.

(NOTE: We first reported on the questionable budget priority issue here.)

At issue is a pot of money designated by California’s 2013-enacted Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), that advocates say is supposed to be used to “improve education for students from low-income areas, foster youth, and English language learners.” The Dignity in Schools-Los Angeles Campaign of students, parents and civil rights groups, which Cárdenas and Nash are supporting, has proposed that the money go specifically to hire restorative justice counselors and other student supports to increase student engagement, attendance and graduation, and to prevent suspensions that tend to lead to greater dropout stats.

Instead, LAUSD’s current LCFF proposal includes $13 million to be added to the school police budget that Cárdenas and Nash say comes directly from “supplemental and concentration funds” that the California Legislature intended to address inequities in student outcomes.

“Keeping our kids out of the juvenile justice system starts with making sure they’re in school and learning,” said Cárdenas about the LAUSD budget priorities. Cárdenas passed the landmark Schiff-Cárdenas Act in the California Legislature to evenly fund both police and restorative justice efforts in California schools, and has introduced similar legislation in Congress.

“We know our kids get off track sometimes,” he said. “This is the time of their lives where they are learning and making the decisions that will guide their lives. Counselors and mental health services are the only effective way we have found to help them avoid bad decisions and recover from those they do make. This is about our next generation. We must protect them, give them the wisdom we have learned and try our best to turn them into productive, valued members of our community.”

Judge Nash is, if anything, even more adamant on the topic. “The communities intended to benefit from LCFF are in dire need of every supportive resource-based approach available,” he said in a letter to LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy. “I do not see a reasonable nexus between law enforcement and specifically improving the educational experience and outcomes for our most vulnerable student populations.”

We at WitnessLA agree.

PS: It should be noted that studies by the independent Rand Corporation have shown that the Schiff-Cárdenas Act of 2000 has both reduced juvenile incarceration and lowered spending burdens for California taxpayers.

We’ll keep you posted on the outcome of this issue.