A handful of Chicago groups are speaking out against President Obama's plan to put more police in schools, and LGBT advocates are among them.
School groups voiced that opposition at a press conference at the Chicago Public Schools Headquarters Jan. 21.
The groups want more school counselors, psychologists and other resources in place of increased police presence in CPS.
Among those speaking against the proposal was LGBT youth organization Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.
Katya Mazon, a junior at Walter Payton College Prep and a member of the Alliance, said the choice is between more social workers or more policing in schools.
After the press conference, Mazon said that policing in schools is an LGBT issue because minority students often bear the brunt of bad policing.
"Usually, police in schools, when they see students fighting, they take the minority student or the 'less social' one of the group, and give that student the harsher punishment," Mazon said.
Voices of Youth in Chicago Education and POWER-PAC (Parents Organized to Win, Educate and Renew—Policy Action Council) co-hosted the press conference with the Alliance.
