New report sheds light on law enforcement officers in Wake
County Schools
February 3, 2011 Media
Release,
Advocates for Children’s Services
(Raleigh, NC) – A new report by Advocates for Children’s Services
calls attention to critical concerns over the use of law enforcement
officers in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS).
School Resource Officers (SROs) are not required to have any
experience or training in working with children and youth.
The 20-page report,
“Law Enforcement Officers in Wake County Schools: The Human,
Educational and Financial Costs,” describes current SRO
policies and practices as “misguided” and criticizes them as
“financially unsound and educationally imprudent.” The report
points to a number of successful models in other school districts
across the nation where progressive reforms have reduced the
school-to-prison pipeline (STPP), while keeping schools safe and
saving taxpayer dollars.
"We
don't know if SROs increase school safety, yet we do know, from
research and investigation, that they are extremely expensive and
criminalize the learning environment,” observed report co-author
Jason Langberg, Equal Justice Works fellow at Advocates for
Children’s Services. “At the very least, before letting SROs
into schools, WCPSS should require that there is adequate training,
limitations, oversight and accountability."
The report notes that although the state, local municipalities and
WCPSS are currently in a budget crisis and laying off employees, no
cuts in school security expenses have been proposed. In
2009-10, the average SRI salary in the WCPSS was $50, 291. In
contrast, a national board-certified teacher with a bachelor’s
degree would need six years of licensed experience before earning
the average SRO salary. Also, in recent years, WCPSS paid for
security personnel to attend workshops on interrogation techniques,
but no money was spent to train school police officers on adolescent
psychology, working with students who have disabilities or Positive
Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
Among several recommendations offered in the report are:
• Positive alternatives to suspensions, arrests and court referrals
meted out
by law enforcement, including restorative justice, community
service,
restitution and other programs that teachers and principals can
administer;
• Specialized mandatory, intensive, ongoing training for all SROs;
• Prohibition of arrests and delinquency and criminal charges
against
students who commit minor offices in schools; and
• Strict limitations on the use of guns, TASERS and pepper spray on
school campuses.
“Students and their parents deserve to learn in schools that value
fairness and equality,” noted report co-author
Barbara Fedders, clinical assistant professor at the UNC School
of Law. “The proliferation of armed police officers in schools,
often operating without oversight from educators, may threaten these
values. We hope this report serves as an occasion for North
Carolina's educational leaders to rethink the way in which we can
best secure safe and nurturing schools,”
A copy of the report may be viewed on the LANC/ACS website at:
www.legalaidnc.org/acs.
Advocates for Children’s Services (ACS) is a statewide
project of Legal Aid of North Carolina. ACS advocates for the
idea that at-risk children are rights-bearing citizens who are
entitled to safe, permanent homes and should receive the medical and
educational services promised by law. Since 2008, ACS’ primary
objective has been to end the
school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) in North Carolina. Toward
that end, ACS primarily engages in two types of activities:
(1) Providing high-quality, free legal advice and representation for
children from low-income families who are facing school push out as
a result of suspension, expulsion, academic failure, unmet special
education needs or enrollment problems; and (2) Providing
community education in the form of presentations, trainings,
media outreach, social media and publications. For additional
information, visit
www.legalaidnc.org/acs.
Legal
Aid of North Carolina (LANC) is a statewide, nonprofit
law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to
eligible, low-income residents. LANC serves all 100 counties of
North Carolina through 24 geographically located
offices across the state and
six statewide project units (including ACS) that focus on
special areas of the law. For additional information, visit
LANC's website,
www.legalaidnc.org.
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CONTACTS:
Jason Langberg (Equal Justice Works Fellow/Attorney. LANC Advocates
for Children),
Durham, NC,
919-226-0051
Barbara Fedders (Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, UNC School of
Law),
Chapel Hill, NC, 919-962-6808
Dock Kornegay (Director, Public Relations & Development, LANC),
Raleigh, NC, 919-856-2564
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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm
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