Police officers returned to Denver's public schools on Monday five months after a shooting at East High School, the Denver Post reports. At least 14 armed officers went back to campuses across the city. The Board of Education had removed them from schools three years ago. Calls from parents and other community members convinced the board to return the police to schools after the shooting. Superintendent Alex Marrero released a new districtwide safety plan during the summer. Most of the safety plan covers systems that were already in place, such as mental health resources.
Denver is one of a handful of U.S. school districts that have rolled back policies enacted during the racial reckoning after the police murder of George Floyd. The school board voted in March to put police back in schools immediately following the East shooting but made the decision more permanent in a split 4-3 vote in June. The decision faced pushback from community members and some board members, who argued having police in schools contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline. The board members who voted to reinstate the officers said they did so because of the rise in teen gun violence across Denver and the increasing number of weapons found on campuses in recent years. School resource officers will be stationed at 13 campuses, with one officer at each location.
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