Department of Justice ends monitoring of Stockton Unified over police practices
The California Department of Justice has announced that it will end the monitoring of Stockton Unified School District and the district's Department of Public Safety.
The agreement was entered into in 2019 to address “system-wide violations of civil and constitutional rights” after a DOJ investigation concluded in 2017 that the district's policies and practices regarding law enforcement referrals discriminated against Black and Hispanic students, and students with disabilities.
Additional DOJ findings
The DOJ investigation, which began in November 2015 and resulted in a nine-page complaint filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, also found unconstitutional search and seizure practices involving students.
In one operation, a canine inspection program had dogs brought to school sites on a random and suspicion-less basis, and students were directed to leave their belongings in a classroom without their consent to be sniffed.
“If the canine had alerted to a belonging, the backpack could be searched by district administrators,” the complaint read. “Though the district's board policy included that students could not be required to leave their belongings behind for such inspections, students in practice had no choice. Furthermore, the lack of training with respect to Fourth Amendment protections in schools led to highly intrusive practices in one high school wherein school administrators conducted classroom-wide random, suspicion-less pat-down searches of students’ persons.”
According to the compliant, Black and Hispanic youth were over-represented in incident reports involving student misbehavior that were referred to law enforcement in comparison to white students. The odds that an incident involving a Black student resulted in being booked into custody were 148% greater than other students. For Hispanic students, the odds were 124% greater.
In regards to students with disabilities, the DOJ found that Stockton Unified “failed to reasonably modify policies” relating to referrals to law enforcement with students being subjected to “interrogation, use of force and/or arrests for conduct resulting from their disabilities.”
The DOJ further alleged that the district failed to ensure effective communication of law enforcement investigations for students who were hard-of-hearing or deaf.
Taking 'important' steps
On Thursday, the DOJ said the end to the oversight on Feb. 19 came after Stockton Unified took several actions, including:
Establishing clear policies and procedures limiting when school administrators refer students to law enforcement.
Creating a formal diversion program in lieu of citations and arrests to address minor school-based offenses.
Revising policies and procedures relating to treatment of students with disabilities in order to prevent discrimination, including the hiring of a trained disability coordinator.
Creating clear processes for school site administrators to refer students with mental health needs to support services rather than a referral to law enforcement.
Instituting mandatory annual training of all officers and staff regarding civil and constitutional rights, disability and special education laws, and elimination of bias.
Reforming use of force policies, procedures, and practices, including implementing a comprehensive review process.
Updating search and seizure policies.
Using data to track and analyze all arrests and referrals to law enforcement from schools.
Establishing the Community Advisory Group, which has collaborated with the district to provide input and review updated policies.
In a statement, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the DOJ and the district have worked together over the past five years "to successfully implement the corrective actions set out in the stipulated judgment to protect the rights of students in schools."
“Today we can celebrate that the agreement has helped the district take important steps to address concerns regarding interactions between police officers and students, and to promote an equitable and positive learning environment," Bonta said.
Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez called the end to the oversight a "testament of the hard work and dedication" of the district's educators, staff and students.
“We reaffirm our commitment to continue the important changes and policies and remain steadfast in our mission to improve services and support for all students, ensuring that each child has the opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally," Rodriguez said. "We will continue to collaborate with stakeholders, implement evidence-based practices, and prioritize equity in everything we do.”
Data shows improved outcomes
The agreement led to "markedly improved outcomes" for students, according to the DOJ. Data provided by the DOJ shows that the total number of students arrested has dropped.
In the 2018-2019 school year, there were 155 arrests, compared to nine arrests during the 2022-2023 school year. In addition, calls for service to the department decreased by 54% and unwarranted calls for service decreased by 52%.
However, advocates say they "will continue to monitor the district's progress to prevent resurgent discrimination."
“Even though the consent decree is over, those disparities still exist," said Linnea Nelson, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Northern California.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: DOJ ends monitoring of Stockton Unified over police practices
