Philly district orders school police to stay out of level 1 offenses
March 25, 2014 – by Kevin McCorry, Newsworks – Philadelphia School District has directed school police officers to stop responding to calls related to Level 1 student conduct offenses. The proscribed violations range from “failure to follow classroom rules” to “truancy” to “verbal altercations” to “inappropriate touching/public displays of affection.”
“These infractions are not criminal offenses; they are classroom/student management issues,” wrote District Chief Inspector Carl W. Holmes to school administrators and school police in a memo dated March 10, 2014.
The memo states that school police should “respond to all calls that are criminal in nature, or where persons involved are violent or threatening.”
In the event of other incidents, officers should “request the presence of an administrator, counselor, or administrative designee.”