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A Look At Legislation That Would Prohibit School Districts From Hiring In-School Police Officers

An empty hallway
Abagael Giles
/
VPR File
Milton Elementary School is among those who have a school resource officer in Vermont. A new bill in the Legislature would prohibit schools from hiring law enforcement for security services.

About half of Vermont's schools contract with local law enforcement officers to provide security services. Some people think these resource officers are necessary to keep schools safe, but others say these resource officers have a negative effect, particularly on students of color. This hour, we talk about a bill that would prohibit schools from hiring resource officers. 

Our guests are:

  • Sen. Ruth Hardy, the sponsor of bill S.63, and a Democrat representing the Addison district
  • Libby Bonesteel, superintendent for the Montpelier-Roxbury School District, which recently decided to eliminate its only school resource officer
  • Douglas Allen, Colchester chief of police

Broadcast live on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 at noon. Rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Emily was a Vermont Edition producer at Vermont Public Radio until September 2021.
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