Schools with school resource officers may have higher rates of exclusionary discipline, including a reported 21 percent increase in incidents¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A systematic review and meta-analysis reports that SRO presence may be associated with higher rates of exclusionary discipline, with schools recording an increase of 21 percent more incidents after SRO introduction; the finding is correlational. → Stern 2018

Evidence¶

Stern 2018¶

Stern, A., & Petrosino, A. (2018). What do we know about the effects of school-based law enforcement on school safety? San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/effects-of-school-based-law-enforcement-on-school-safety

q2 · i? · review · r2

A review by Fisher and Hennessy (2016) of studies on SROs and exclusionary discipline (e.g., out-of-school suspension, expulsion) found "an increase of 21 percent more incidents of exclusionary discipline after the introduction of SROs." The brief stresses the finding is correlational and causality cannot be determined.

"In their review, the authors found that schools recorded an increase of 21 percent more incidents of exclusionary discipline after the introduction of SROs. This finding is correlational, and the authors note that it is impossible to determine whether this difference reflects a change in student behavior or a change in the level of disciplinary or police enforcement."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Schools implementing restorative justice report decreases in exclusionary discipline such as suspensions and expulsions — related
• School-based law enforcement is not associated with statistically significant changes in students' perceptions of safety at school — related
• High schools that retained SROs had higher suspension rates, were smaller, and served more socioeconomically disadvantaged students — related
• Black students and students with disabilities are suspended at disproportionately high rates, and high-poverty schools are more likely to have a School Resource Officer — related
• SBLE is associated with higher exclusionary discipline rates, with no detectable improvements to school crime or violence — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• SRO removal was not significantly related to changes in overall discipline infractions or in suspensions at either the student or school level — related
• Full removal of SROs from CPS high schools was associated with a statistically significant reduction in high-level behavioral infractions at both the student and school levels — related
• Common non-curricular policing strategies show no overall effects on measures of school crime or discipline — related
• Restorative practices reduce exclusionary discipline and misbehavior and improve school climate, safety, and achievement, though implementation requires sustained investment — related
• School resource officers have limited effects on school safety and increase suspensions, expulsions, police referrals, and arrests, with larger negative effects for Black students and students with disabilities — related
• Exclusionary discipline is ineffective at improving school safety and harms both suspended students and their non-suspended peers — related
• Exclusionary discipline disproportionately removes students of color and students with disabilities from school — related
• SBLE presence is associated with higher levels of school crime and behavior incidents, driven by increased exclusionary discipline, in school-level analyses — related