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Latino Students In Connecticut Suffer Disproportionate Discipline From School Resource Officers

Wilfredo Lee
/
Associated Press
Dara Van Antwerp, the school resource officer at Panther Run Elementary School Pembroke Pines, Fla. walks the hallways of the school where she works on Aug. 22, 2013.

As communities all over the country continue to debate how to keep children safe at school, many districts have turned to School Resource Officers, or SROs -- essentially uniformed and armed police officers in school. But a new study in Connecticut shows that SROs can have a negative impact on students. 

Districts often request school resource officers because they believe it will improve safety and discipline, but until this report from Connecticut Voices for Children, there’s been no reliable data analysis to show whether that’s achieved.

And it's an issue for more and more districts around the country. The Office of Civil Rights Data Collection at the U.S. Department of Education shows that between the 2012-13 and 2015-16 school years the number of schools using SROs increased by 29 percent.

When the study examined public safety measures, including the use of weapons, drugs, or alcohol; theft; and property damage, the data showed the average numbers of incidents were not significantly different in schools with SROs.

The academic performance  of students was also relatively unaffected by the presence of SROs.

But Camara Stokes Hudson, one of the study authors, said in fact what happens when you employ more SROs is that some students experience more exclusionary discipline.

“We specifically found that the average arrest rate of Latino students at schools with an SRO was six times the average arrest rate of Latino students at schools without an SRO,” she told Connecticut Public Radio.

Credit Connecticut Voices For Children
/
Connecticut Voices For Children

While there’s no difference in the rate of incidents involving drugs or weapons in schools that employ SROs, but there is a higher rate of incidents involving school policy violations, like dress code, running in hallways or talking back to teachers.

Stokes Hudson said the possibility of being arrested has serious consequences for students.

“Even one arrest can result in children experiencing reduced access to future educational opportunities, future employment opportunities," she said. "Racial and ethnic disparities are exacerbated and made worse and that the youth that we end up pushing out are often black, Latino, native youth.”

Connecticut Voices for Children wants school districts to publish the agreements they make with school resource officers, and ensure that students understand what their rights are when they interact with SROs.

The organization also wants the legislature to commission more comprehensive research on the effect of SROs in school districts.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.