Parents in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are demanding the reinstatement of police officers in schools due to alarming increases in violence, illegal substance use, threats, and weapons on campuses. The lack of law enforcement presence has created a climate of fear and lawlessness, according to concerned parents who have witnessed firsthand the negative impact on their children's safety and education.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is facing growing pressure from parents to reinstate police officers in schools after a surge in violence and lawlessness on campuses.
Parents Shiva Bagheri and Maria Luisa Palma spoke out on "Fox & Friends First" about their concerns about their children's safety and exposure to violence and drugs while at school.
"High school, middle school students, they bring home videos that the kids have taken on campus of fights – very, very, intense fights – with groups of kids fighting and a kid on the ground, other kids jumping on top of them, for example," explained Palma, a concerned mother from Los Angeles.
In February 2021, the LAUSD school board voted unanimously to eliminate police officers from schools. However, a safety board is now asking that individual schools be allowed to make the decision for themselves. The school board rejected a similar resolution in September 2021.
"This has become the norm here," said Palma. "The district is normalizing this type of violence, and we hear it from our kids. And now we have the data that was just released in mid-April that confirms what we've been hearing anecdotally from our children."
LAUSD reported significant increases in reports of violence, illegal substances, threats, and weapons brought onto campuses in the 2022-2023 school year.
The release of the latest data prompted parents to voice their concerns at a school board meeting Tuesday, calling for additional safety measures.
"How many students have to die so that you are able to do something? We need to have the school police in all the schools," one parent demanded.
Palma stated at the meeting, "How long before you come down to our level from your ideological castles in the sky, and listen and act in the best interest of our community? The communities that put you in these positions. How much longer? What else is it that we have to do?"
Shiva Bagheri, another parent in the LAUSD, attributed the "lawlessness" in schools and the state as a whole to the "defund police" movement.
"It's just a bunch of crazy people that are ruining our streets," she said. "My daughter saw two armed robberies in broad daylight. So, of course, we need the police there. That's the only way as parents are going to feel that our kids are safe at school."
Palma has launched an online petition demanding the return of police officers in schools.
"It's heart-wrenching to feel that we take such pains, we make huge investments in our children to keep them safe at home. Everything we do for our kids, just to think that at school they're going to be exposed to drugs in the bathrooms, which is what the kids tell us. That they're going to be witnessing close up the violence and the fights that are out of control," she said.
Palma believes discipline and consequences are key.
"That's what's missing," she said.
She believes LAUSD's shift from a suspension discipline environment to a "restorative justice and positive behavior support" discipline policy is not working and has led to a lack of deterrents for students' inappropriate behavior.
Palma believes her son, along with other students, is suffering academically as a result.
"How can kids concentrate on developing their academic capabilities when the schools are not safe?" she asked.
The escalating violence and lawlessness in LAUSD schools have raised serious concerns among parents and community members, who are calling on the district to prioritize student safety by reinstating a visible and effective law enforcement presence on campuses.
