So, like, I guess school administrators are the ones who should be handling discipline issues, not the cops, according to policing experts. It turns out that many California school districts don’t really have rules in place to stop officers from getting involved in student disciplinary stuff, even though the feds say it’s the administrators’ job. An investigation by EdSource found that over half of the contracts between school districts and police departments don’t really specify whether officers can enforce school rules or deal with code of conduct violations like swearing or wearing inappropriate clothes. The U.S. Department of Justice thinks that agreements for school resource officers should make it clear that they’re not supposed to deal with routine discipline problems. But hey, they didn’t respond when asked for more info on that.
Jyoti Nanda, who teaches at Southwestern Law School in LA, thinks that cops don’t have the right training to handle behavioral issues that lead to student discipline. She says, “Well-trained educators can handle all of the disciplinary issues. When police enforce school rules instead of criminal law, they’re totally overstepping and causing harm to kids.”
A lot of these contracts for policing don’t even make it clear what the resource officers are supposed to do. They’re supposed to be “informal counselors,” “mentors,” “role models,” and show “good citizenship.” Some even refer to them as “youth development officers.” Others give them the power to enforce school rules like using bad language or showing affection in public, which could get a student in trouble.
Some contracts also say that officers will teach classes, but they don’t say what classes or what training they need. The Anderson Union High School District’s contract with the Shasta County Probation Department even says that officers need to teach classes as decided by the district and approved by the county. But the superintendent didn’t respond when asked about that.
Experts say that having resource officers in these vague roles can put students at risk legally. Barbara Fedders, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, thinks that having these relationships with students can be misleading. She says that officers can take advantage of that relationship if they need to question the kids for law enforcement purposes.
Some contracts don’t even make a distinction between officers’ roles in investigating school rule violations and potential crimes. For example, the Fullerton Joint Union High School District has contracts with the cities of Fullerton, La Habra, and Buena Park that require officers to investigate situations that come from student behavior at school. They can even search students if they think something illegal happened or if a school administrator tells them to.
Legal experts are pretty critical of those terms. They say that it’s not clear who decides if something is suspicious or potentially illegal. The language in the contract “sends the wrong message not only to officers but to students and parents and teachers because it’s so vague,” says LaDoris Cordell, a retired Superior Court Judge.
The Oxnard Union High School District, on the other hand, has contracts that clearly say that resource officers shouldn’t get involved in disciplinary matters. They have policies that require officers to separate disciplinary misconduct from criminal offenses. Superintendent Tom McCoy says that it’s never been a problem. But school board member Karen Sher wonders why they need police officers at all. She says, “Why are we policing our children?”
Some other districts, like Madera Unified School District and Lucia Mar Unified School District, don’t really have clear rules on whether officers can get involved in discipline. It seems like they just expect everyone to know that officers shouldn’t be managing student behavior. But maybe it’s just me, but shouldn’t they make that stuff crystal clear?
Galt Union High School District even changed their contract to make it clear that resource officers shouldn’t handle routine discipline problems. The superintendent says that the new language helps clarify things when dealing with student needs. But honestly, shouldn’t this be clear from the start?
I guess the lack of clarity in these contracts is pretty worrying, according to Jyoti Nanda. She thinks it’s super important for parents, educators, and administrators to pay attention to who, what, and why officers are in our schools. Because, you know, it’s kind of a big deal.
