Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lincoln to vote on placing more officers in middle schools

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union and others are worried that a proposal to add school resource officers to Lincoln's middle schools will lead to disproportionate treatment of minorities and marginalized groups.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the Lincoln City Council and the city's Board of Education will vote this week on the Safe and Successful Kids initiative. The proposal will fund and administer six middle school resource officers and a threat-assessment officer, in addition to mental health services and support for community learning centers.

The NAACP, ACLU and others are concerned that placing police officers in schools will feed into the "school-to-prison pipeline," where young students of color in particular are funneled into the juvenile justice system.

Proponents say the initiative will make schools safer and create positive relationships between police and students.

All contents © copyright 2018 Associated Press. All rights reserved.