The mission of the Duluth NAACP Education Committee is to actively advocate for equitable local, state, and federal policies that establish education standards, allocate resources, and set priorities for education and workforce systems. To achieve this mission, the committee has three overarching areas within which they focus their efforts:

Racial Justice in Education

We need strategies and investments that build accountability to advance the success of children of color. Black children deserve to experience culturally relevant, student-centered learning — not extreme punishments or hallways staffed with police officers. We work to expand policies and interventions that equip all those who work with students in education, as well as families and communities to better support their kids' needs in school.

An End to the School-To-Prison Pipeline

Police officers don't make schools safer, but police presence in schools does increase the likelihood that Black students will be introduced to the legal system and then remain in it. In 43 states and the District of Columbia, Black students are more likely to be arrested than other students while at school — often with devastating effects to the child and their life trajectory. We advocate that funding for police officers (also known as School Resource Officers or SROs) in schools be redirected to more restorative justice initiatives and support services for children.

College and Workforce Success 

We support students getting the education and skills development they need, so they can be successful on the job or in an academic environment. College costs should be affordable. We advocate for forgiving student loan debt and decreasing the overall cost of college as an economic imperative. 

Previous Successes

During the past academic year (2022-2023), we were able to work with ISD709 to focus on restorative practices rather than just disciplining students through behavior tickets. In the past year this has resulted in a drop of issuance of behavior tickets from 1200/year to 12/year.

Current Project Priority:

The Duluth NAACP Education committee has prioritized School Resource Officers (police officers) in schools as an area of action for this current year recognizing that the local school district has signed on to have police officers in schools for the next few years. We will: 

• actively advocate for the development of language (including policy and procedures) which explicitly outlines the expectations of SROs, including the level of restraint appropriate for special education students and students of color. 
  
• participate in the district SRO advisory committee to actively promote the use of plain clothes policing in schools so as to be less intimidating, threatening and triggering for our students, particularly those that have experienced multigenerational and historical trauma.
  
• work to promote and support solutions and restorative practices as alternatives to in school suspensions; outside school suspensions; detention and expulsion.