Young people at Youth Poder lead the School to Liberation Campaign, fighting to end the criminalization of students and to remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from the Phoenix Union High School District, the largest school district in Arizona.
We believe in the power of working class and BIPOC youth to redefine safety and build a liberated future where they and their families can thrive.
In 2023, Arizona ranked 37th in education, and in 2024, it ranked last in student-to-counselor ratio at 667 students to one counselor. Since 2017, students have been building a movement to change these conditions through advocating for more mental health services, social workers, and counselors in their schools, in addition to the permanent removal of police.
