News & Commentary

Our entire electoral system is deeply related to one’s residency. Where you live determines what district you vote in, the candidates you choose to support each election, and the issues that appear on your ballot. But, can you vote if you do not have a traditional place of residence? How do you vote if you are experiencing homelessness? The answer is that those experiencing housing instability or homelessness absolutely have the right to vote, but they often face unfair and steep hurdles to exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot.

All you have to do is make a voting plan and stick to it (and be sure to have a backup just in case!)

Are we doing everything in our power to make sure that all women are now in a position to vote and have their vote fairly counted?

Ever think about what might happen if you get arrested upon suspicion of committing a crime? Our Constitution guarantees we are innocent until proven guilty, right? Perhaps not.

Students are not immune to the political and social climates around them, and oftentimes, they get involved in these movements, sometimes to the chagrin of the authorities around them.

  Since the end of May, protests have rocked the nation after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, resulting in incredible responses on many levels. They have included Confederate statues coming down, Minneapolis agreeing to dismantle their police force, and companies across many different areas committing to equity and racial justice. Organizing and conversations have revolved around defunding/abolishing the police, divesting, and holding police officers accountable for their unjustified use of force, especially against Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. Included in these calls to action is the fight to pull police officers from schools. In early July, the Columbus Division of Police “abolished” school resource officers (SROs) following the end of its contract with Columbus City Schools.  Alternatively, and unfortunately, Northeast Ohio school officials reaffirmed SROs despite calls to abolish them, and the Cincinnati Public Schools Board is discussing the topic after parents, teachers, and students voiced their concerns over having police in their school system. Other cities also have begun to discuss this topic – and for good reason: police do not belong in schools. Upon hearing this, the knee-jerk reaction is likely confusion and fear. Why would someone want to pull police from our schools – especially when school shootings were on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic? Who would break-up physical altercations? Who else could keep the school safe – after all, doesn’t a police presence in schools make them safer? In short, the answers revolve around one tremendous fact: officers do not make schools safer. In fact, they often cause harm and perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline. And here’s why.What is the school-to-prison-pipeline?The school-to-prison pipeline is a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. A large number of these children have learning disabilities or come from impoverished communities and are frequently victims of abuse or neglect. Often, these children could greatly benefit from additional educational and counseling services – however, due to the school-to-prison pipeline, they are instead punished, isolated from their peers, and shoved out of school into incarcerationWhy are police in schools?According to a report released by the ACLU in 2017, for over fifty years, there has been an increased presence of officers in schools – with a particular focus on schools where student populations consist of poor Black and Latino communities. Along with mass incarceration on the rise, there has been an increased panic created by the media, law enforcement, and politicians over the supposed increase of youth crime. This frenzy has been utilized to justify the targeted and punitive policing of low-income Black and Latino youth. After the Columbine massacres, there was an extreme rise of the expansion of a permanent police presence in schools – and this was sold to the masses by creating the ideal of a “school resource officer.”What is the intended purpose of school resource officers?Conferring to the same report, the role of police in schools differs from state to state, district to district, and even school to school. At the national level, the federal COPS office and professional organizations like NASRO have come to describe the job of the school resource officer as a triad of law enforcement, counseling, and teaching. Whether or not school police in a particular district or school espouse elements of this triad, school police are always, first and foremost, engaged in law enforcement. In other words, SROs end up serving as law enforcement, informal counselors, teachers, emergency responders, and school disciplinarians – despite not having the proper training or credentials to serve as professionals in some of these roles.What are the negative effects of SROs in schools?There are many different negative impacts upon students in each of these instances, but it is imperative to focus on one thing in particular: violence perpetuated against BIPOC – and especially Black – students, mirrors that of the police brutality we see on the streets and the disproportionate mitigation of punishment and discipline we see in the courts. Though the examples are many, some of the most recent examples include an SRO body-slamming a middle-schooler twice and a 15-year-old student being incarcerated for not doing her homework during the global pandemic. The latter is still imprisoned and has been since the end of May. Furthermore, the prioritization of hiring and implementing SROs in schools has led to the lack of vital resources – so much in fact that:7 million students are in schools with police but no counselors3 million students are in schools with police but no nurses6 million students are in schools with police but no psychologists10 million students are in schools with police but no social workersAnd 14 million students are in schools with police but no counselors, nurses, psychologists, OR social workers.This means there are almost 35 million students who are found in a situation in which policing them is more important than providing them with an essential resource.What does this mean?As evidenced by the information above, Black and Brown students are criminalized from a tender age and funneled into the criminal justice system to fuel the mass incarceration crisis. And the question that we have to ask ourselves is this: does it have to be this way? The answer is a resounding NO. It does not have to be this way. Instead of being punished at such a young age, our children deserve better. Instead of calling in SROs to deal with the so-called “problem” of troublesome children, why not invest in professionals – such as psychologists, counselors, and social workers – who can find the root cause of the behaviors these students exhibit and what traumas that may be fueling them. Why are we punishing the students who need us the most? Why are we punishing kids for being kids or for lashing out as they figure out how to deal with their traumas? Our children deserve better. The school-to-prison pipeline should’ve never existed in the first place, yet here we are, standing in a time long past in which we’ve had plenty of time to take action in order to provide better for them. As boards of education, administrators, teachers, parents, and students prepare for the unknown future of the 2020-2021 school year in light of the pandemic, one thing should be obvious to all: we must get police out of schools.

An Open Letter to Judges in Cuyahoga CountyOhio is bearing the weight of a crisis right now: not just the crisis of COVID-19, but the crisis of cash bail. Through a system that prizes money over justice many residents of Cuyahoga County are faced with a crippling alternative when they are detained: either pay an exorbitant release fee, or spend the rest of your pretrial time behind bars.This has a destabilizing effect on poorer, and especially Black communities, who are already facing financial hardships in the current climate. Without having the money to pay for your presumption of innocence, pretrial detainment can result in loss of employment, loss of housing, and even parental custody of one’s children. Additionally, it can result in higher conviction rates, and ultimately harsher sentencing outcomes.The longer you stay in jail pre-trial, the higher your rate of conviction. It isn’t only losing your job, or having less contact with a lawyer that can hurt your defense when you stand before court. It is also the likelihood of having to take a plea bargain in order to get out of jail in the first place. Ultimately, you are declaring yourself guilty without a defense. And ultimately, you become another number in the Ohio prison system.Ohio is waking up to this. America at large is waking up to this. As we witness mass demonstrations against police violence our country is coming to terms with its long history of injustice. Money bail is an issue that, like police violence, disproportionately affects the Black community. It is legal condemnation in the form of wealth. With lives locked away our people essentially face no future, as incarceration can destroy one’s chances of finding housing or securing employment after their release.Why should second chances be given based on who can pay? I would ask you if this is fundamentally in line with the principles-not the system-but the principles that a democratic society should be committed to.I am calling on each judge in Cuyahoga County to be a better representative for ALL county residents, not just the ones who can afford to pay for their innocence. This means not relying on money as a way to ensure people’s attendance in court. Or forcing people, additionally, to pay for electronic monitoring once they have already met their bail costs. Bear in mind that these obligations have the worst impact on people who are not only disadvantaged, but not yet proven guilty in court.This means promoting alternative methods of pretrial justice, such as cite and release, rather than detainment after arrest. It means using digital reminders rather than GPS trackers or monetary incentives to ensure that a person shows up for their court date. In places like New York and California, these “reminder” incentives have been shown to work. Not only are they cheaper for the defendant; they cost less overall for taxpayers. According to a study by the Prison Policy Initiative pretrial detention costs $13.6 billion at the national level, per year. By contrast, an article by the Associated Press found that Upthrust, a software employed to send digital reminders, ranges from $10,000 to $20,000 in installation costs and $2 for each person requiring a reminder. Upthrust is currently used in states like Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, and Washington.I am imploring you to use your power as an administrative judge to stand with your Cuyahoga community: to uphold the rights you were elected to serve. I am calling on you to represent the needs of those most disadvantaged by the judicial system. I leave you with two quotes, one from Gandhi, the other biblical: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members,” and “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

This originally appeared on Cleveland.com on Jul 26, 2020.

Below is our Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels' opponent testimony on Sub House Bill 680. This was delivered to the Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee on July 21, 2020.