Denver Public Schools Board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson — who led the push to remove police officers from campuses in 2020 — now supports a long-term policy for their return near schools.

Anderson’s proposal is a hybrid approach with Denver police officers acting as community resource officers that are not stationed in a school, but in a region near campuses.

The details would have to be ironed out, such as what role officers would play on a daily basis and how many would be deployed, Anderson said. But Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas has agreed to the proposal, in theory, Anderson said.

“We cannot turn back on the progress that we have made,” Anderson said at a news conference Wednesday announcing the proposal.

Anderson and Director Scott Esserman, who are co-sponsors of the proposal with Director Michelle Quattlebaum, unveiled a draft of their preferred new policy Wednesday.

Esserman pushed back on what he called “the myth of rapid response” by having police on campus rather than a regional presence.

“This policy ensures that we are, in fact, dismantling oppressive systems,” said Esserman, a former educator.

They pitched the proposed change as a “middle-ground solution” in response to school safety discussions. They also advocated for what they described as a new approach to student searches.

On March 22, Jerald Mason and Eric Sinclair — both deans at East High School — were shot and injured by a student, who was subject to daily pat downs at the school.

Anderson said that only the district’s campus safety officers should conduct student pat downs for weapons.

It is unclear what the district policy is. Superintendent Alex Marrero has said it is common for administrators to conduct these searches while a former director of emergency management said only campus safety officers are trained to do so.

Anderson suggested this policy would reinforce the district’s commitment to “fostering an atmosphere of trust and understanding between our students and those tasked with their safety.”

Following the shooting at East High School in March, the board voted to temporarily reintroduce police officers at the district’s comprehensive high schools and tasked Marrero with crafting a comprehensive safety plan.

While Marrero’s final draft is expected before the end of the June, two earlier versions recommended a long-term return of school resource officers (SRO) to campuses.

In 2020, the DPS board of education voted unanimously to cut ties with the Denver Police Department and removed SROs from campuses over claims their presence perpetuates the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

Research has shown students of color often receive harsher penalties than their white counterparts, a finding that has long worried advocates that this also leads to greater incarceration rates.

Data Anderson shared Wednesday also suggests these racial disparities existed in DPS prior to the removal of SROs, with Black and Brown students accounting for 87% of the tickets and citations.

Roughly 26% of the DPS student body is White.

Three years ago, Anderson co-sponsored the district’s SRO termination resolution with now state Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, arguing students should be greeted by nurses, school counselors and mental health support workers — not armed police — and that the $750,000 DPD contract should be redirected to these efforts.

In addition to Anderson, Director Scott Baldermann and then-Board President Carrie Olson also voted to remove SROs.

“We’re bringing this forward to make sure that our students are safe,” Anderson said at the time.

In explaining his June 11, 2020 vote, Anderson said that removing SROs was taking “a step in the right direction.”

“It’s time we put Denver students first,” Anderson said then.