Liberation Through Abolition: An Analysis of Police Funding Reallocation in Three California Public School Districts

• In Event: Sustaining Antiracist and Abolitionist Leadership

Abstract

This study examines three school districts that defunded their police in 2020. While it may seem these districts were immediately responsive to the uprisings against police violence, this study focuses on the socio-political context within these communities that built the momentum for these district-level policy decisions. It examines the reallocation of funds, highlighting not only what was dismantled, but what can be recreated, which is core to the project of abolition.
This study followed the movement in Oakland, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. Findings demonstrate that these districts were all somewhat successful in defunding police due to local community-based organizations, which spent decades fighting to protect marginalized students. This study shows the impact that community organizing can have on district policy.

Author

• Amber Bradley, Washington Unified School District
  Presenting Author