Increasing Surveillance of Central Valley Students by Feds (SB 1181)
Criminal Justice & Policing · Democracy & Civic Engagement · Education Equity · Immigrant Rights
Schools should be safe, welcoming, and affirming learning environments for all students. Unfortunately, SB 1181’s approach of increasing coordination between schools and law enforcement fusion centers is likely to exacerbate student distrust and disengagement rather than improve their attendance or wellbeing.
Fusion centers are tasked with spying on all of us, with little to no oversight. They access information from automated license plate readers, facial recognition technology, and even social media activity. This information reveals who we are, where we go, what we do, and who we know. These fusion centers are meant to automatically share that ocean of sensitive information with out of state entities and federal law enforcement that fuel Trump’s deportation machine.
The students most likely to be harmed by this approach are the very students the bill seeks to support: students of color, immigrant students, and LGBTQ students.
Instead of taking a punitive approach that threatens student privacy, we urge the Legislature to invest in evidence-based solutions. For example, as SB 1181’s findings acknowledge, Merced County has significantly reduced its absentee issues by expanding its counseling services. Yet, nationally, three million students are in schools with police, but no nurses. Six million are in schools with police, but no school psychologists. And 10 million are in schools with police, but no social workers. Policing student behavior is a root cause of the school-to-prison pipeline. We must divest from this detrimental approach and turn to evidence-based solutions that will foster positive learning environments in our schools.
The Legislature must reject SB 1181’s increased surveillance of California students which will only harm student outcomes.
Principal Bill Author:
Senator Hurtado