Policy Committee Meeting: April 28, 2022
by Diane Payne and Lynda Rubin
Exactly one week after this meeting, District parents received an email notifying them that the District would be carrying out weapons searches in middle schools.
The email, signed by “The School District of Philadelphia”, told parents that their children would be subject to “periodic weapons screenings”. The anonymous author of the email wrote, “The District understands that this level of screening may feel intrusive and inconvenient.” Although Board Member Reginald Streater defended the District’s decision in the Inquirer, neither he nor any other Board member brought it up for discussion at this Policy meeting or at the April 21 action meeting. Did the Board not know about the District’s impending action? The Board makes policy on student safety, not the administration. Why did the Board not give parents an opportunity to weigh in–either for or against–the heightened security measures?
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 