Counselors Not Cops

BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled students are disproportionately affected by police and the school-to-prison pipeline. This is why, in 2018, 3 youth-centered organizations – the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), the Providence Student Union (PSU), and the Providence Youth Student Movement (PRYSM) – came together to form a new coalition: the Providence Alliance for Student Safety (PASS). Together, we’ve been organizing for the complete removal of school resource officers (SROs) out of Providence schools, and the redirection of funds toward increasing support staff for students.

PASS has since been joined by Youth In Action (YIA), Rhode Island Urban Debate League (RIUDL), and Youth Voices.

PASS youth meet every week of the school year to design and execute our campaign strategy. Over the last few years, we’ve equipped a range of different approaches, including: direct action and mobilization, political education programs, resource creation and dissemination, civic engagement, legislative testimonies, and more.

On this page, you will find:

1. What is the PASS coalition?

2. How can I join the PASS coalition?

3. How can I support the PASS coalition?

4. A brief summary of our work to-date

Here, you can find available resources – unpacking the school-to-prison pipeline, the mental health crisis, and more – for your own learning and teaching needs.

For more, feel free to check out PASS’ main page here, or contact zoe@ariseducation.org

 

What is the PASS coalition?

PASS is an intergenerational, multiracial, and youth-centered coalition fighting for the removal of School Resource Officers and improved mental health resources for Providence students. In line with Freire’s Pedagogy of Liberation, PASS combines critical learning with critical action: within our weekly meetings, youth both develop their knowledge and structural analysis of policing in Providence, while simultaneously organizing to change this reality. In this way, youth not only gain the skills to criticize injustice, but the tools to make a difference.

How do I join the PASS coalition?

PASS is always open to new members! If you’re a Rhode Island high schooler, you’re more than welcome to sign up here and drop-in to our next meeting. Our meetings are currently scheduled for every Wednesday, 4:30pm at the PSU office (769 Westminster Street in Providence).

To learn about joining ARISE and becoming a Youth Leader, click here.

How can I support the PASS coalition?

PASS relies on donations to fund our campaign work. To support the movement, click here!

If you’re interested in being informed of upcoming events, actions, and other opportunities for involvement, sign up for our listserv here.

Our Work To-Date

Direction Actions

Student Walkout, April 2021: The Providence Student Union (PSU) led mobilization on a PASS student walkout to demand #CounselorsNotCops. The students marched through the city in the pouring rain, stopping at the Providence Public School Department, the Providence Public Safety Complex, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).

- Click here to read about the walkout. -

Justice for Jay-Juan, February 2022: In response to a 16 year old student being assaulted and unjustly arrested by a School Resource Officer, ARISE and the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) co-organized a direct action rally. Huge crowds gathered at City Hall to demand the removal of Officer Pichs and immediate release of Jay-Juan. Prior to this, our 2 organizations, with the support of the PASS coalition, had been engaged in writing and disseminating coalition responses, hosting art-builds, and more.

- Click here to read about #JusticeForJayJuan -

March Against HB8310, June 2022: ARISE and PSU co-coordinated a statehouse protest against House Bill 8310, which proposed placing 2 officers in every Rhode Island public school. In the weeks leading up, youth from both organizations worked together to design and create a number of protest signs; write testimonies, drawing from their lived experiences; and spread the word through social media and flyers. On the day itself, our youth – and the crowds they’d gathered –convened at 3pm to begin the protest. With bullhorns blasting and signs waving, they marched down to the statehouse steps.

- Click here to read about the march against HB8310 -

Demanding Student Safety at the Gubernatorial Debate, August 2022: ARISE and PSU youth spent their Summers engaged with the local mayoral and gubernatorial elections. This culminated in an end-of-Summer march down to the gubernatorial debate, where youth called on their elected officials to promise safer school environments. To build a world our students (and future leaders) want to see, we call on candidates to guarantee #CounselorsNotCops.

- Click here to read about PASS’ engagement with the gubernatorial debate -

Billboard Unveiling, March 2023: ARISE and PSU youth spent Spring 2023 strategizing new forms of visibility raising and recruitment. We decided, as part of this plan, to create 3 billboards, placed in areas of peak traffic. Our youth spent the remainder of the season designing the billboards and picking the spots.

- Click here to read about our billboard unveiling -

 

Legislative testimonies

ARISE has played an active role in shaping the passage of bills in both the House and Senate. We’ve consistently testified against those policies that would harm our youth (e.g. proposals for increased SRO funding) and in favor of those that would benefit our cause (e.g. proposals for better mental health resources). Our responses are informed by and include direct testimonies from our youth themselves, along with evidence-based data from existing research.

Featured
Response to House Bill 5084

The Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education Justice (ARISE) stands in support of House Bill #HB5084, which proposes to provide schools access to a mental health curriculum…

Organizational Testimony in Opposition to House Bill 6149

As parents, youth, and community members deeply concerned for student safety, we are deeply troubled by the call for increased support for school resource officers. This bill denies the years of research showing that SROs not only fail to keep our students safe, but actively harm and endanger them...

Response to House Bill 5628

“The policies and authoritative disciplines involving zero tolerance and police in schools must end. SRO’s create a hostile, tense, and uncomfortable environment for students as they are punished for having bad days, or for simply being themselves…”

To see a full list of our organizational statements, click here.

With gratitude to RI Kids Count for always keeping us informed of upcoming bill proposals and legislative sessions.

 

Visibility Work

ARISE has also worked to fuel visibility for #CounselorsNotCops with the goal of base building and engaging more people in this fight. This includes:

  • A PBS docuseries, wherein ARISE’s Program Coordinator, Symone Burrell, spoke about the impact of school resource officers

  • A Brown University panel about Defunding the Police

  • Our “Get Cops Out of Schools” Op-Ed in the Boston Globe, co-written by Chanda Womack (Executive Director) and Nancy Xiong (Lead Organizer)

  • The Willful Defiance Panel, with Mark Warrens, wherein Burrell and PASS youth discussed their experiences with SROs

  • Several other panels and national conferences that are not recorded.