What We’re Tracking
Bellevue School District SRO Program
BSD suspended the School Resource Officer Program in March of 2020 during the COVID-19 shut down. You can read the district’s summary of the program’s history here. In mid December of 2022, the district concluded a community engagement process and survey that was intended to provide feedback on the proposed changes or “reforms,” including changing the name from SRO to CEO (Community Engagement Officers). Eastside For All joined several other advocacy groups and individuals in calling out the bias in the process and survey which served to further marginalize and negate voices of Black and brown students who have been actively protesting SRO’s. The district is expected to publish a report on the input received in late January or early February, 2023. Regardless of the decision, the district has stated that the program will not be back in schools during the current school year (not feasible logistically). Watch our Calls to Action for advocacy needed, depending on updates from the district.
Lake Washington School District’s Racial Equity Policy
Starting in 2017, the LWSD formed its first Equity Advisory Team to advise, provide input, and help prioritize the district-wide equity efforts. The District is now forming its first equity policies. After an initial draft of a Board equity policy that Eastside For All and several other advocates objected to, on September 13, 2021, the Board addressed the feedback and adopted a ANTI-RACISM, ANTI-DISCRIMINATION, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN EDUCATION RESOLUTION, and the Board Equity Policy OE-14 “Anti-Racism, Non-Discrimination, Equity and Inclusion in Education.”
A subcommittee of the District’s Equity Team is drafting the administrative equity policy with repeated calls for bold, anti-racist directives aimed at transforming the institutional culture into one that centers the needs and solutions of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Pacific Islander students, families, and staff.
Regarding SRO’s in the district, the number of SRO’s serving Kirkland schools in LWSD was reduced from six to four. Kirkland SRO’s also switched to a “casual” uniform of dark polo shirt and khaki pants, plus gun. Eastside For All voiced objections to City of Kirkland leadership about that change because there was no community input and because of how similar the new look is to what ICE agents wear during immigration raids. The SRO debate is made more complicated in the LWSD because there are multiple police jurisdictions involved. See the Sept 2022 letter submitted to the LWSD Board by Indivisible Kirkland opposing the SRO program.
City of Kirkland’s Resolution 5434: Ensuring the Safety and Respect of Black People
In August of 2020, Kirkland passed a resolution to comprehensively address systemic racism. The City funded a multi-faceted approach to address racism over the next two years. The City is looking at accountability, transparency, and community engagement, especially as those concepts relate to policing and governing. More information can be found on the City’s website, as well as opportunities for offering feedback and finding ways to stay informed and involved.