State Superintendent of Schools, Tony Thurmond, convened the Taskforce on Safe Schools to revisit the role of law enforcement on school campuses. The purpose of the Taskforce on Safe Schools hearing was to address these issues on a statewide level and within the context of equity and racial justice. This comes at a time when many communities are asking their districts to reconsider the role of police in education. Superintendent Thurmond outlined next steps, which include future conversations to explore funding for resources to implement restorative justice practices and training in areas such as de-escalation techniques and crisis management. This is an exciting development that will hopefully increase the resources available for schools to implement restorative justice practices, a key component of healthy schools.

An archived broadcast of the hearing can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) Facebook page.