With governor's backing, Black lawmakers seek to ban handcuffing young kids in Colorado schools

[TexasTowelie]

Democratic state Sen. Janet Buckner said she read with horror this week of a lawsuit alleging school resource officers in Douglas County handcuffed an 11-year-old boy and held him for two hours in a patrol car, all for scratching a classmate with a pencil.

It’s the kind of situation a new bill that she’s sponsoring seeks to eliminate.

“He’s going to be in trauma for a long time after that incident,” said Buckner, a former school speech pathologist from Aurora.

At least 65 kids were handcuffed in a two-year period in Denver alone, Chalkbeat Colorado reported. Denver has since eliminated the practice in elementary schools. Buckner’s bill, introduced Friday, would ban handcuffing of elementary students statewide, as well as make a series of other changes intended to overhaul disciplinary procedures in schools and limit the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/03/12/colorado-ban-on-handcuffing-young-kids-black-lawmakers-school-to-prison-pipeline-democrats/

[AverageOldGuy]

1. How about we ban the "school resource officer"?

AFAIK, the ubiquitous "school resource officer" (SRO) is a police officer assigned by the local law enforcement authority (police, sheriff) to the school. Being a police officer means that the SRO knows one way to deal with a confrontation -- cuff 'em and stuff 'em.

Having the SRO relieves the school administrators -- principal, vice- and assistant-principals, etc. -- from having to deal with discipline matters.

Remove the SRO and make the building administrators responsible for their buildings.

By the way:
-- wife taught high school for 35 years; retired 25 years ago; she is no fan of SRO
-- daughter for six; she is no fan of SRO
-- daughter-in-law is Asst Superintendent for Student Services in major Northern VA school system; SRO's report to her, she does not permit them to carry any type of restraint, tazer, firearm -- she went to the mat with the police chief over this issue and won.