HAZELWOOD, Mo. — Students within the Hazelwood School District will not be seeing school resource officers at the start of this school year after school board members said the three police departments from which they draw their officers declined to send them through diversity and inclusion training the district wanted to provide.
“While SROs will not be in our schools at the start of the school year, our long-standing relationship with our local law enforcement will continue; furthermore, so will our never-ending respect for the crucial role they play in our community,” according to a statement parents received and that’s posted on the district’s webpage.
St. Louis County, Florissant and Hazelwood police departments contribute officers to the district, which is the second largest in the county with about 18,000 predominantly Black students in north county.
The discussion between the police departments and school district leaders began earlier this year. The I-Team obtained a letter written June 1 by the police chiefs from the three departments.
“After our careful review and discussion regarding the request to add contract language that requires our School Resource Officers to participate in a minimum of 10 hours per contract year of professional development on diversity, equity and inclusion provided by the school district, we believe our officers receive training that is more than adequate to address the critical matters of diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to the letter signed by recently retired St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton, Hazelwood Chief Gregg Hall and Florissant Chief Tim Fagan.
A St. Louis County police spokeswoman said the department is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion training.
"Our officers will continue to receive specific and developed training in these critical areas that is Missouri P.O.S.T. approved. Unfortunately, Hazelwood School District’s required training does not meet that criteria. We recognize the value of the School Resource Program and hope to maintain a positive and productive relationship with the school district," county police said in an emailed statement.
Hall was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Fagan said he "feels confident" his department and the school district will reach an agreement.
"The Florissant Police Department values our long-standing partnership with the Hazelwood School District and we look forward to continued discussions about returning our School Resource Officer to the school," Fagan wrote in an email to 5 On Your Side.
In their letter, the chiefs also outlined how much training and continuing education the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training commission requires for their officers to keep their peace officer licenses.
“Cultural awareness has long been part of the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy curriculum,” the chiefs wrote. “Missouri POST certified training instructors and subject-matter experts outside of law enforcement implement this curriculum.
“This curriculum includes training on diversity, equity and inclusion.”
School officials declined to comment beyond the written statement on the district's website.
St. Louis County police provide eight officers to the district. One is from Florissant. Three are from Hazelwood.
Hazelwood school board members wanted officers to undergo 10 hours of Hazelwood School District training that would cover the following topics:
- Understanding the Hazelwood School District – Statement of solidarity
- Trauma-informed practices and Hazelwood School District students
- Adultification of African-American children
- Language sensitivity and communication with diverse student populations
- The role of the school resource officer in partnership with school safety officers and school hall monitors
- The district and school resource officer partnership to combat the school to prison pipeline
“The aforementioned training would have helped SROs better serve the social and emotional development of our students,” school members wrote. “Additionally, much of the training mirrors professional development activities that HSD faculty and staff participate in year round.”
Until the school district and police departments can reach an agreement, the district will use the money it would normally use to pay for SROs to “hire additional safety officers and pay for additional safety resources,” according to the district’s statement.
The district has 20 elementary schools, six middle schools and three high schools as well as separate campuses for early childhood, gifted and individualized learning.
You can read the full letter from the police departments to the school district in the document below.
