Early draft of Denver's safety plan for public schools released
Denver Public Schools released an updated draft of its new safety plan. In response to recent incidents of violence, DPS has been working to revise district-wide safety policies.
"I want to thank everyone who has provided input up to this point. Our community differs on the approaches, processes, and strategies. But it is clear that we all want to help ensure that we keep our kids safe," said Dr. Alex Marrero, DPS superintendent. "And a safe school is paramount to the success of our students."
A few key changes in the plan were made based on community feedback following the release of version 1.0.
In 2020, the DPS Board of Education voted to remove School Resource Officers from schools. SROs returned temporarily following the shootings at East High School.
In the first draft, it was the recommendation of Marrero to allow all district-run high schools and 6th through 12th-grade campuses to engage their school communities to make a site-based decision regarding SROs.
In the updated draft, Marrero recommends the Board of Education to make a district-wide decision regarding SROs that would apply to all comprehensive high schools and schools grades 6-12.
Should the district return to SROs in district schools, the Student Safety Coordinator Team in partnership with Denver police will train SROs in DPS regarding student safety protocol procedures.
According to data received from Denver School Leaders Association (DSLA), 80% of principals who participated in the survey are in support of SROs returning to schools.
However, 60% of principal participants believe the school board or superintendent should make the decision.
DPS says feedback has been mixed on weapons detection systems. The updated plan suggests that decisions on technology like metal detectors be site-based with extensive community engagement.
DPS is currently researching and testing the most effective technology options.
In preparation for the next school year, representatives of DPS leadership will travel to Harvard University to collaborate with other urban school districts to build strategies for strengthening student discipline, discipline practices, and engagement.
"I'm suspicious of DPS spending more money to go chase more experts that are far away. And we've supplied a rewrite to the discipline matrix that PSAG is comfortable with. We've shared that with every board of education director and with the superintendent. We hope that they look at our recommendations, and we hope that they engage with local experts," said Steve Katsaros, co-founder of the Parents Safety Advocacy Group (PSAG).
DPS will gather feedback through June 12. The final safety plan is will be released by the end of June. Additionally, a survey will be distributed to allow our community to provide feedback on these changes and more tele-town halls will be scheduled.
"I'll say that it's a step in the right direction. I hope the superintendent is going to meet the meet the deadlines and that we'll get training in July. That will lead to a safe return to school in August," Katsaros said.
