Montgomery County Students Hold Vigil To Oppose Police In Schools

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Some Montgomery County Public School students and parents took part in a vigil Sunday evening to oppose a new proposal that would place armed officers in schools.

Held outside the Carver Educational Services Center and Board of Education building, the vigil included local activists who are pushing back against reinstating police after they were removed last year from MCPS schools.

However, Dr. Monifa McKnight, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, recently proposed a CEO 2.0 model that would bring them back.

“Putting in the CEO 2.0 program is not going to keep us safer, and it is actually just going to cause more trauma,” Hanan Miles, a freshman at Montgomery Blair High School, told WTOP-TV.

At the vigil, parents and students spoke about their negative experiences with the police.

"The back-and-forth debate whether police should be in schools or not can no longer continue," said Kamora Lattiboudeaire, Sunrise Silver Spring Counselors Not Cops Team Lead, in a news release.

Hosted by local activist group, Sunrise Silver Spring, members said they want instead mental health support for students and cultural transformation as it relates to racial justice and safety.

Following a series of incidents at MCPS schools, including a shooting at Magruder High School in January that left one student injured, calls to return police officers to schools are gaining support.

"Given the current landscape across Montgomery County with respect to social, emotional well-being, the increase in serious incidents, and the rise of heightened violent interaction amongst students, it is imperative to conduct an exhaustive and thorough review of the current MCPD CEO program," the school district said during its Feb. 8 board meeting.

Meanwhile, a 2021 YouGov poll revealed that overall, Americans, 45 percent, tend to believe that police officers make schools safer for students. Another 29 percent think it doesn’t have a significant impact on safety, and 14 percent say this makes schools less safe.