REVOLUTIONIZING POLICE ENCOUNTERS THROUGH THE CLASSROOM
Vision
There is so much at stake in police encounters, especially for disproportionately targeted groups. KYR EDU works towards a society where every school makes space for students to consider, prepare, and practice how to interact with police effectively and safely.
Our goal is for every high school student to have access to honest, educational conversations with legal experts and law enforcement in their area.
We dream of a future where every officer is accountable, and where every person receives critical education on their rights and how to best maneuver police encounters.
dATA
Among the 278 students who completed the KYR Education unit and survey…
94% of students report feeling more empowered
98% are more confident and prepared
95% are less fearful
93% are more likely to advocate against police brutality and teach rights to others
96% have steady or improved opinion of police
ACTION PLAN
Implement KYR EDU in your classroom and/or district
Share with educators and advocates in your network
Join a growing network of legal experts and proactive officers engaging in classrooms
Advocate for adoption of KYR standards to your state’s curriculum guides
Contribute your KYR resources and experiences to the KYR EDU community
behind KYR EDU
I’ve been an educator for almost a decade in South Memphis. Over the past five years, I’ve collaborated with community stakeholders to create and incorporate a “Know Your Rights Unit” into my high school government classes. I built this unit to help my students. In the wake of highly publicized police killings, they were scared and anxious and I had to do something.
After surveying three years of students who completed the unit, the quantitative and qualitative data was too striking to limit to our school. Incorporating “Know Your Rights” education into curriculums could increase the self-efficacy of civilians, enhance police accountability, decrease incarcerations, and potentially mitigate excessive use of force during police encounters.
Now, Know Your Rights EDU facilitates this education by 1) making these tried and true resources available for free 2) connecting teachers with legal experts to equip students and community-focused officers to hear them and answer questions.
What Students Are saying
“The ‘Know Your Rights’ unit changed my perspective about what my rights are by letting me know that in some situations when interacting with the law I am not left powerless. It also let me know that there is a way to defend myself without becoming physical.”
— Zshanderia (10th)
“It taught me that there is a line between being worthlessly subservient to [a] police officer and being respectful to that of an individual who happens to be a police officer.”
— Heaven (10th)
“The most important thing that I've learned honestly would be the whole thing because though I learned new rights (to me), I was truly taught how and when to use them, because I can have all the rights in the world to use, but if I don't know to use them then they are useless to me.”