WI judge orders officers into Milwaukee Public Schools by Feb. 17

MADISON, Wis. - A Wisconsin judge ordered Milwaukee Public Schools on Thursday, Jan. 23 to comply with Wisconsin law and provide the legally required number of school resource officers (SROs) in all public schools no later than Feb. 17. 

The backstory:

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) is suing Milwaukee Public Schools in an effort to reinstate school resource officers as required by state law. 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of an MPS parent, asks the court to make MPS "immediately comply" with Act 12. The law required at least 25 officers to be reinstated across the district and went into effect back in January.

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In 2020, the district’s school board fully ended MPS' contract with police. 

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)

Back in October, MPS offered a statement that said, in part: "Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) remains ready to implement a School Resource Officer (SRO) program as soon as officers are available. As MPS does not employ, hire, or train City of Milwaukee police officers, the district is waiting for the city to provide resources for the program."

What they're saying:

"As it has all along, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) remains ready to implement a School Resource Officer (SRO) program as soon as officers are made available by the City of Milwaukee. The Court’s decision today ordering the City of Milwaukee to participate in the implementation of the SRO program at MPS is a recognition that the City plays an integral role in implementation of the SRO program. MPS remains committed to working collaboratively with the City to build a sustainable SRO program." - Milwaukee Public Schools

Milwaukee police at MPS school

"The city of Milwaukee is interested in resolving the outstanding issue with MPS about how the cost of the police officers is allocated between the two entities. The law says, 'The 1st class city school district and the 1st class city shall agree to an apportionment of the costs of meeting the requirements of this subsection." In the past, before MPS terminated officers in schools, the cost allocation was MPS paid 5/6ths of the staffing costs for SROs. Right now, that issue is unresolved." - Jeff Fleming, Milwaukee Director of Communications and Public Engagement.

WILL Associate Counsel, Lauren Greuel said, "This is a massive triumph for parents and kids who want to go to school in a safe environment. Without this ruling, MPS would have simply continued to ignore the law and parents like our client would have been left with no options."  

What's next:

A news release from WILL says if MPS fails to have 25 school resource officers in schools the morning of Feb. 17, the district must appear before the court that afternoon to explain why they have not adhered to the law.

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This is a developing story.