South San Francisco Unified School District postpones vote on Student Liaison Officer program

The South San Francisco City Council unanimously supported the most recent draft of the MOU during a special meeting July 28 with some members sharing hopes the board would meet in time to approve the agreement before the new school year. 

City urgency was driven by a board decision to suspend the SLO program, prohibiting officers from entering campuses except in cases of emergency, until an agreement is finalized. But with board President Daina Lujan absent from the meeting due to feeling ill, Trustee Patricia Murray recommended the board postpone its discussion until all voices can be heard. 

“Her voice has been an important voice and I think her voice should be heard,” Murray said.  

Vice President Mina Richardson agreed with the recommendation, noting the board could end up with a tie. Richardson went on to highlight her concerns that having officers on campus is making facilities appear less safe rather than secure. 

She went on to question whether district officials have recorded any information indicating the program has been a benefit to students, a concern raised by public speakers during the meeting. 

Dr. Ryan Sebers, director of Student Services, said the district has recorded a 78.6% decrease in student suspensions since with 1,645 suspensions in 2006-07 school year to 352 in 2019-20. Expulsions are also down by 90% from 61 cases in 2006-07 school year to six in 2019-20. 

He credited the improvements to parents, instructors and the district’s investment in counseling and mental health support programs. 

“I was … pleasantly surprised to hear those numbers when you first presented them and I continue to be impressed but at no time did I hear you say because of the SLO program this is the result,” Richardson said. “This program has been here since the ’80s and I think it’s time for us to reevaluate it. It’s way past that moment.” 

Discussions around the SLO program began a year ago after school district officials realized a formal agreement did not exist. City and school district governing bodies were also met with community pushback for the program with former and current students, teachers and concerned members of the public imploring the district to put a final end to the partnership with the police department. 

The intent of the MOU is to clearly define when SLOs should or should not be engaged in student disciplinary matters and programming. As detailed in the draft MOU, campus staff is to internally handle most disciplinary matters unless otherwise directed by the education code, a policy Superintendent Shawnterra Moore said was always standard but not documented.

Several amendments have been made to the MOU by both governing bodies in response to community input such as requiring officers to be casually dressed while allowing them to be armed when on campus and to offer as much detailed information on student legal rights as possible. 

Trustee John Baker said he also had a substantial number of amendments he’d like to make, further supporting calls to postpone a final vote until a full board discussion can be held. 

Before the vote was put off, public speakers claimed the process had been rushed and raised concerns that neither body had presented substantial data in support of having police on campus. Instead, meeting participants have implored the bodies to reject the MOU, leaving the program suspension in place. 

Moore defended the speed of the district’s work, noting the board had directed staff to develop the MOU and signaled an urgency to have it finalized before the new school year. Following board direction, Moore said she will work with Lujan on rescheduling the SLO discussion. 

“I want to make sure we follow through on the directive that was given to me to make sure that we come up with an MOU that serves the needs of our students,” Moore said. “I have no doubt we will get there and we’ll do it collaboratively and collectively.” 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

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