Student Safety >> School Policing
Can school policing be reformed?
Resources about the efforts to reform school policing policies and practices, including sample policies
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End to Random Searches of Students is a Victory for Entire Community, EdSource, 2019
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School Police Operations to Get an Overhaul in Two Big-City Districts, EdWeek, 2019
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Why School Policing Reform Matters, Endzerotolerance.org, 2017
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Parent's Checklist for SROs in Your Children's Schools, Strategies for Youth, 2017 [Available in Spanish],
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Students Not Suspects: The Need to Reform School Policing in Washington State, ACLU of Washington, 2017
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Police Arresting Far Fewer Students After Spokane (Washington) Schools Change Discipline Polices, 2017, The Spokesman-Review
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City School Safety Data Shows Handcuffs Used Disproportionately on Black and Latino Children, New York Civil Liberties Union, 2017
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Youth Advocacy Group Pushes for a Complaint System about School Police Officers, 2017, The Notebook
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The Right to Remain a Student: Police in California Schools, ACLU of California, 2016
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Get Police Out of Schools, Coalition of Student, Parent Groups Says, 2016, EdWeek
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Over 100 Education Groups Want To Kick Cops Out Of Schools, 2016, Huffington Post
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Obama Administration To Schools: Stop Using Police To Enforce Rule, 2016, Huffington Post
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As Awareness of the School-to-Prison Pipeline Rises, Some Schools Rethink the Role of Police, Huffington Post, 2015
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School Discipline & Security Personnel: A Tip Sheet for Advocates on Maximizing School Safety and Student Success, National Juvenile Justice Network, 2015
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Philly District Orders School Police to Stay Out of Level 1 Offenses, 2014, NewsWorks
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Avoiding Criminalization in School Discipline: Reducing Reliance on Law Enforcement in Schools, [webinar, PowerPoint] Dignity in Schools Campaign, 2013
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Sample Policies
Harm Reduction School Board Policies on Bullying, Complaints, Data Tracking, Law Enforcement Contact, Racial Profiling, Search and Seizure, and Vandalism
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Limiting Police Involvement in Low-Level Violations of the Code of Conduct
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Philadelphia School District Police Response to Code of Conduct Offenses School police will not be dispatched to address low level code of conduct violations.
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Prohibiting School Resource Officers from Questioning Students about Their Immigration Status
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Tuscon (Arizona) Unified School District immigration anti-discrimination policy prohibits all employees, vendors, School Resource Officers acting under a contract with the district, volunteers, and visitors at schools or school-sponsored activities from investigating and enforcing actions relating to immigration status. See policy (amended 4/9/2019) and ACLU of Arizona presentation (Handcuffs on Success)
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Alternatives to Arrest - Diversion
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Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court: Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program Multi-agency program provides an alternative to arrest. Program brochure, MOU and Program Evaluation
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Arrest Protocols that Respect Students’ Rights and Dignity
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San Francisco, California – Student arrests for non-school matters should not normally be made on campus. On-campus arrests should be done in a way that does not violate the student’s privacy.
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Eliminating the Discriminatory Police Ticketing of Youth
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Los Angeles, California – City Council amends Municipal Code 45.04 (“Daytime Curfew”) to restrict the punitive ticketing of youth for tardiness and truancy. Learn more about this successful campaign (video).
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Reforming Student Arrest Protocols
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Los Angeles, California – LA School Police Department revises protocols for handling incidents that historically have resulted in citations and battery arrests. Learn about the problem of over-policing of Black and Brown students, and the new citation and arrest protocols and flowchart of the new intervention protocols.