Los Angeles Slashes School Police Budget, Replaces Officers With ‘Climate Coaches’

Los Angeles School Police officers watch students lining up to pass through a security check point at Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 21, 2005. David McNew/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education on Tuesday approved a plan to cut one-third of its police budget and divert the money to a program that focuses on black students achievement.

The board voted to cut 133 school police positions from the Los Angeles School Police Department, including 70 sworn officers, 62 non-sworn officers, and one support staff member. The staff reductions reduce the annual budget of the district’s police force from $77.5 million to $52.5 million.