Letter to the Hon. Jeff Sessions, US Attorney General - Review Broward County Schools' Discipline and Safety Policies
Letter
Dear Attorney General Sessions:
The Broward County School Board recently held public meetings where alarming claims were raised about the school board's discipline and school safety policies, many of which were also highlighted by national media outlets. Given the gravity of the situation, I respectfully request for you and your department to review this new information and, to the best of your abilities, determine its veracity. This includes, but is not limited to, reports that:
1. The department awarded federal grants to Broward County, in part, because of the county's revised discipline policies to end the "zero-tolerance" policies in an effort to reduce the number of school-based arrests.
2. School Resource Officers were directed by local police departments not to arrest students for certain felonies.
3. In 2016, Broward County schools had the highest ratio in the state of cases involving weapons -- with about 15 cases for every 10,000 students -- despite the Broward School Board reporting that arrests were on the decline.
4. Claims that schools were intentionally classifying violent acts and felonies as non-violent acts or misdemeanors in order to prevent a referral to law enforcement.
5. The ratio of minority youth and young adults arrested in Broward County increased, since the county's school discipline policies were overhauled in 2013.
6. Since 2013, the number of juvenile arrests for violent crimes, including manslaughter, auto theft, robbery, kidnapping and murder, have increased, outpacing the state average.
7. Juvenile records for crimes, including felonies, are intentionally being destroyed.
8. Students are manipulating the lax discipline policies by using schools to buy and sell illegal drugs.
Additionally, the Broward County school discipline policies allowed students to return to schools after being convicted of serious crimes, including "rape, murder, attempted murder, sexual battery or [a] firearm related" offense. If a person is convicted of such crimes, would these actions disqualify the offender from being able to legally purchase a firearm?
Sincerely,
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