In the spring of 2020, a video of George Floyd being murdered by a Minneapolis police officer went viral. And then — something unprecedented happened: millions filled the streets, marching and demanding the defunding of police, community-centered care, and an acknowledgement that Black lives truly matter — not just on the streets, but in classrooms and school hallways.
School districts responded, too. Publicly vowing to remove armed officers and replace them with counselors, mental health supports, and restorative justice programs. It seemed like the start of a fundamental shift — an end to the criminalization of Black children, and the beginning of a caring, holistic approach to student safety.
But five years later, data on cops in schools reveals that not only have many districts failed to fulfill their promises, but the scope of policing in schools has expanded into surveillance and AI-driven systems that, according to experts, disproportionately police Black kids…