Cassandra Bensahih can’t forget the day seven years ago that her 11-year-old daughter was brought home from school in a police car. A black middle school student in Worcester, she forgot to bring a homework assignment to class that day and was told she had to leave the classroom. When she refused, a school-based police officer was called and she wound up under arrest.

The presence of police in Massachusetts schools is detrimental to students and disproportionately harms Black and brown children, according to a new report released Tuesday.

A new report, co-authored by Citizens for Juvenile Justice and Strategies for Youth, argues that there is little evidence that school resource officers make Massachusetts schools safer for students. We talk about what the study found with Leon Smith, executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice.

Citizens for Juvenile Justice and SFY support and advocate for reforms to drastically reduce or eliminate the presence of police in our schools. This joint report outlines our rationale why.

Recent events have sparked a nationwide discussion on the role law enforcement plays in society. As such, our communities are demanding and deserve highly trained law enforcement personnel equipped with the decision-making skills required to handle the increasingly complex calls for service that officers face nationwide. This can only be accomplished by evaluating current police training methods against what science has proven to be effective.

A number of Massachusetts school districts are failing to adhere to data collection measures required by the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act, with some reporting no school-based arrests when their own records show a significant number of arrests.

Strategies For Youth Executive Director Lisa Thurau comments on the lack of national standards when it comes to youth-specific policies or practices and the problems that causes for our communities.

Acena Beck of the Children’s Law Center talks about her experience using Juvenile Jeopardy in Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio as part of her organization’s efforts to protect the rights of children. Listen to the whole episode – but the Juvenile Justice discussion starts at 19:50.

Lawmakers are expecting a bill from Gov. Charlie Baker that would mandate a certification process for police officers on Wednesday, vowing to pass law enforcement reforms next month before the current legislative session ends.

Right now, the public’s outrage is fierce enough that it may force some change. Young people, as always, are showing us the way. But it is not fair, right or realistic to expect youth to carry all the water… Experience has shown me that what is needed for real, enduring reform starts with the political will at all levels to insist on reforming law enforcement policies and practices in America.