An Open Letter to LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan
To Withdraw Her Motion to Expand Los Angeles Municipal Code 45.04
From Teachers and School Administration

Dear LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan,  

We, the undersigned, join with Community Rights Campaign in urging you to withdraw your motion in support of expanding Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) 45.04 to allow police officers to cite students on public school grounds.  We are very concerned about the negative impacts that expanding the jurisdiction of law enforcement to address issues of school discipline will have on our students and school communities.

The negative consequences of the enforcement of LAMC 45.04 would only be aggravated by this change to the municipal code.  These include but are not limited to:

• discouraging students from going to school for fear of being ticketed
• causing significant financial and emotional stress on students and families
• creating a more hostile school environment for students

Rather than seeking to expand LAMC 45.04, the LAUSD and LA City Council should be seeking a moratorium on tickets; and instead invest in service-oriented and student-centered alternatives that do not involve the criminal justice system. 

Numerous studies have shown that "zero tolerance" policies unfairly target students of color, and that the increasing reliance on school police to handle discipline issues creates an adversarial environment that pushes students out of school, particularly students already at risk.  We believe the proposal to expand LAMC 45.04 will only serve to further aggravate this.  Moreover, in that 91% of LAUSD students are students of color-10% Black, 74% Latino-there are significant racial and civil rights harms caused by the municipal code itself and with this proposed amendment that specifically targets public school students.

California Education Code (EC) Section 48320 seeks to divert students with school attendance or behavior problems from the juvenile justice system.  The current enforcement of LAMC 45.04 counters this as it sends students directly to the court, a problem that would only be made worse by expanding the ability of officers to cite students on campus.  

Again, we urge you to withdraw your motion to support the expansion of Los Angeles Municipal Code 45.04 and work with the Community Rights Campaign to create real solutions in increasing student attendance and graduation rates.   

Sincerely,

Please contact Lisa Adler if you would like to sign this open letter from teachers and administrators:
(213) 387-2800 or lisa@thestrategycenter.org

Are you a member of an organization?  Please click here to sign our letter for organizations.

Read More: Take Action Against Educational Racism