A new bill in Illinois wants to take resource officers out of the schools.

The new bill according to Fox 39, "will allow school districts to take the money used for an officer and re-direct it to mental health services."  Lawmakers sponsoring the bill believe more children are landing in the criminal justice system from how we currently operate our schools.

With all of the recent walkouts and students taking a stand I personally do not see this happening. We want to make sure our students are safe and out of harms way.

Now, I am not saying mental health is something we do not need in our schools. When I went to college there were counselors for students, and I went pretty often. That resource helped me keep my sanity from tough classes to personal life problems. There are amazing things that can happen from just having someone to talk to. A resource officer helps to keep the grounds safe but mental health service can help handle those issues in and out of school that may lead to harmful behavior.

The cost to operate schools is already high. Yet if we can find a way to budget for keeping the resource officers and adding in more mental health services, we might be moving in the right direction.

 

 

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