State Lawmaker Declares Open Season on Schools by Banning Police as Resource Officers

A Nebraska Democrat has filed a bill that would prevent law enforcement from serving or working as resource officers in schools in the state.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers sponsored LB 589 to bar schools from allowing peace officers, defined as a member of a law enforcement agency authorized to make arrests, from working as a school resource officer. His bill would not prevent law enforcement from responding to calls from a school or from being present at extracurricular activities such as football games.

Chambers argued that such police programs operate “disproportionately on students of color and those with disabilities, thereby manifesting the same toxic, discriminatory impact found in the society at large.”

The proposal is not without precedent. Last March, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio moved to remove armed police officers from all New York City public schools despite an outcry from parents over school safety. The officers were replaced with unarmed security.