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BOE Member Fraley Opposes Elimination of Police from Schools

February 12th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

Amid national conversations about the role of police, some Democratic lawmakers in the Maryland House of Delegates are pushing to eliminate police from public schools in the state. The proposed legislation is strongly opposed by the Allegany County Board of Education. The two bills are the latest piece of a years-long fight over whether police should be in schools. One, called the “Counselors Not Cops Act,” would shift the $10 million a year Maryland spends on school resource officers to pay for counselors, social workers and expanded mental health services. The other, called the “Police-Free Schools Act,” would eliminate school resource officers statewide. The local school board has actually been working for several years to secure funding that would allow an officer in every school in the system. Board member Tammy Fraley said these proposed bills would halt that effort…