
In 2010, 14-year-old student was shot to death by school resource officer in Texas after punching a student on school grounds. The student refused to freeze, officer trapped him into a shed and shot him. SRO faces no charges. 2012, a special needs student was arrested by a school resource officer and filed at the county jail and charged with disorderly conduct after his teacher told him to stop talking (Sneed). 2014, 17-year-old student in Texas was tased by school resource officer while trying to break up a fight, resulting in the student being critically injured and spending 52 days in medical induced coma. He was stepping away from the officer when zapped (Vitale).  These are a few stories out of the thousands that have occurred just within the past few years. It is time America opens their eyes to the school-to-prison pipeline that is wrecking havoc in our education system. Law enforcement within schools are providing a false sense of security to administration and parents, criminalizing teenage behavior, and diminishing a student's unalienable rights resulting in a negative learning environment.

In order to fully understand the role of school resource officers, it is important to have background knowledge on their positions. School resource officers have become a common part of public schools in the United States. There are currently over 84,000 schools with police presence, with their job being to patrol the school (Brown E.). It is their job to create a positive learning environment and prevent danger from occurring in the school, however, this is not what is happening (Cray and Weiler). This is making the teacher's job significantly more difficult. A teacher's goal is to create a positive learning environment, may that be through a connection with a student or just an overall happy classroom experience. When an extra person, especially one of such authority like a police officer, comes into the equation that is a very difficult task, especially in areas that already have a negative connotation towards law enforcement. School resource officer's hinder a school's environment due to criminalizing typical teenage behavior as well as using excessive force when dealing with those behaviors. Also when giving a background of school resource officers it is important to address what exactly is the "school-to-prison-pipeline." The term consists of the idea that the presence of law enforcement within schools are pushing children towards the path of prison. Students are interacting with law enforcement at a younger age and are more likely to spend time in jail if they already have a negative view towards the police. This issue is more than an education issue but an economic one as well (Sussman). With everyone attending school throughout the beginning of their life and potentially raising kids who will also be going through the education system it is important that this issue is tackled immediately. 

A major concern for most people due to certain recent events is the safety of schools and what would happen if a shooter entered the building. The idea of having a law enforcer with a weapon on school grounds seems like a fantastic solution to this problem. And I will agree, there is very little that teachers can do under this circumstance. School resource officers gained popularity after the occurrence of the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999. Parents and government officials responded to the scare with implementing large amount of school resource officers. However, what many seem to forget is that Columbine High School had two armed security officers in the school when the shooting occurred (Stowe). The occurrence at Sandy Hook Elementary school in 2012 occurred when there was no police presence in the school. However, the belief that one school resource officer could stop a mentally ill man from the attack is a question even authorities are beginning to question (Sneed). There are many ways to prevent attacks and protecting students than having an armed security officer on campus. For example, a study has been taken that having students through objects such as balls or pencils at the intruder is just as affective. There is a YouTube video of the strategy that is very eye opening. The presence of police allows teachers to not worry about the occurrence of these events. This seems good but police can still do very little when these events occur ultimately putting down teachers' guard for no reason. Since there are other ways to protect students, is it worth creating a negative learning environment for students in fear that a shooter will enter the school? School resource officers are simply providing a false sense of security for the teachers, administration, and the parents. 

We have all done things in school that were prohibited, such as sneaking a text or for girls, showing your shoulders. These actions used to be addressed by the teacher and would consist of scolding or in-school suspension. Now these actions may result in arrest. Typical misbehavior in school such as being on a cellphone or talking back to a teacher is now being dealt with by law enforcement. This is due to the vague lines that are drawn between what school resource officers should be involved, "more than 64,000 students were arrested at school in 2011-2012" (Brown, E.). Students should not be arrested for typical behavior that is expected when a young adult is trying to figure out who they want to be in life. It is the administrations job to punish a child and police should only be involved when absolutely necessary. Sending students into the prison system at such a young and influential age is dangerous. For example, a Texas school district had 3,500 student arrests in the 2006-2007 school year yet only 20 percent of those arrests involved some sort of weapon; and that weapon was typically a fist (Sneed). Yes, assault is a misdemeanor but when did school fights become more than a suspension.  School resource officers' have the opposite effect on the school environment than what they think, a study concluded that if students believe their policies are fair, they are more likely to follow the rules and ultimately creating a safer school environment (Bracy).  

When students believe that the school rules are unjust they are more likely to misbehave. This does not mean that if a student is unhappy about a cell phone policy they are going to start a fight but that if a student believes that the rules are unfair, unclear, or inconsistent then they are more likely to act out (Bracy). If the school rules were adjusted to create a fair and enjoyable learning environment the entire issue of fighting and violence within schools could be solved therefore school resource officers would hardly be needed. Also, if students feel unsafe within their learning environment attendance raters, violence rates, and performance levels are all affected. Students who feel threatened by law enforcement are less likely to come to school and will perform lower than other students (Brady et al). Something needs to be done about this.

With police dealing with misbehavior issues, excessive force is guaranteed to cause a controversy. Due to inconsistent and vague standards school resource officers do not know what punishment to give for misbehavior (Sneed). They lack the training on how to deal with juveniles, they do what they know and that is to use force when dealing with someone their own size that is an adult. If school resource officers are going to be in the schools, training must be done on how to handle a student that is significantly smaller than you and in a school setting (Theriot). As stated in the beginning, there have been multiple horrifying examples of police using excessive force within the past few years. One that is heart breaking is when a special-needs student "was arrested in 2012 by a school resource officer, booked in jail and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after an incident that started with a teacher asking the student to stop talking" (Sneed). In no means should a law enforcement officer be arresting a special needs student over a disagreement on talking. A death in 2010 of 14-year-old in San Antonio, Texas occurred from a police officer using excessive force. He had punched a student on school grounds and then fled after being told to stop by the school resource officer. After he refused to stop, the school resource officer shot him. Two years later, a grand jury declined to indict the officer (Vitale). A school should be a place where students feel safe, and that was the intentional goal of a school resource officer. Yet, when a student has the fear of being arrested for a simple misbehavior, that's when school resource officers are going far beyond their line of duty. 

This sense of fear produced by school resource officers is seriously hindering a child's education experience. Brittany Packnett, a leader for the Black Lives Matter movement said "The first time a lot of black and brown children experience police violence is in a school building. The first place that our children learn to fear police, learn they're controlled instead of empowered, is in a school building" (Brown, E.).  Schools are supposed to be a safe haven, not creating a school-to-prison pipeline. School resource officers are pushing students towards prison, especially those that are of minority which will be touched on more closely later on. School resource officers were implemented originally in schools with many minorities in order to create a sense of community between the neighborhood and the police. The idea is great, but the results were not what was anticipated. There have been many recent examples blasted across the media outlets about law enforcement targeting minorities, especially blacks. This is also occurring within the schools. The case at Spring Valley High School right here in South Carolina is a prime example. A school resource officer was asked to come into the classroom when dealing with a black student who was not putting her cell phone away. After her still not listening, he brutally flipped her desk and shoved her against the ground. Now visualize if that would ever happen to a girl who was Caucasian, it simply would not have happened. I'm sure throughout the country there are many school resource officers who are creating a safe and inviting environment. But there are many who are not, therefore something needs to be done about their entire occupation in general.

Being an American citizen is based off of being free and equal. We are allowed to speak our minds, express our views openly. It is something we all take great pride in, then why are we letting our children have these rights taken away from them. We are all equal to a free education under the U.S. constitution, why is this something we are still struggling with (Sussman). Yes, everyone has the option to attend the public school within their district but that is not what I'm addressing. The issue at hand is the racial discretion from law enforcement that occurs within schools.  Students who are of minority are more likely to be suspended or expelled than those of Caucasian descent. For example, "black students make up 34 percent of nation wide suspensions despite comprising 17 percent of the school population" (Sussman). Although, the number of black students enrolled in public schools are far less than others their percentage of suspensions is significantly high. They are at a higher risk for their behavior being interpreted as a crime, ultimately continuing the cycle of minorities within the prison system. These unjust actions are apart of the corrupt school officer program that is currently in place and making students not want to attend school.

I completely understand the idea of school resource officers and agree that if their training was right and there were certain laws intact that their presence would be rewarding and positive, yet under current laws and situations this is not possible. However, they do provide some positive aspects to the learning environment. School resource officers consider their job description to be beyond just an enforcer of the law. They are teachers and mentors as well. Police serve as a teacher through programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) and Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.), both programs that are commonly found in most public schools (Brown & Benedict). A program that I have been through and am a huge advocate of. 

Another positive impact to some parents is lessening the distraction for their child in the school. To me this seems like a violation to the equal right to education but school resource officers typically arrests or deal with misbehavior from students who are already struggling with their schooling. These students no longer feel motivated after their actions are dealt with in such a way and typically drop out or placed in the prison system. Parents are happy about this because no longer having those struggling students means that test scores will be higher. And when test scores are higher that means more funding for the school (Stowe). To some this seems like a positive result, but to me it seems unjust and cruel. 

There's no need to imagine a system with all of the negative attributions of school resource officers as stated above, because that imagination is reality. But imagine a school system where all students of all races felt comfortable and equal within the school. A system where students are not punished for typical teenage, coming of age behavior. A school that provides for all of their students and are not pushing certain ones towards the prison track. America is based under equal opportunities and with this school system that would occur. This visualization is possible.

When originally starting my argument I had the belief that the entirety of school resource officers is corrupt and that they should not have any place within the classroom. With societies concern with safety today, I realize this is not possible. However, there is something that can be done. School resource officers should not be present within the school environment on a daily basis and should not be called upon unless someone's life is in danger, may that be a student or teacher. Their actions have proven that they are not trained for dealing with this behavior within a learning environment. Until adequate training can occur and police learn to step back and let the administration do their job with punishment, school resource officers should not be apart of the daily life within the schools. They should make stops occasionally at the school to create a connection but should not be present at all times as it leads to a negative and hurtful learning environment.

As citizens of the United States and future parents, it is our job to create a safe learning environment if the government will not. Take a stand and speak to your school board, speak out about the unjust school resource officer system. 

