Congress: Require Special Training & Restricted Roles of School Resource Officers in All States!

  • by: Susan V
  • recipient: Members of Congress and Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Chairman Todd Rokita

Too many incidents involving misconduct of School Resource Officers have resulted in abuse of school children. To address these and other concerns involving the presence of SROs in schools, advocacy groups recently met with Representatives in Congress asking for legislation to limit the role of SROs.

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT).who has attempted twice to meet this goal, says the involvement of school resource officers is perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline and known to target minority students, and it's also costing communities a fortune.

Murphy points to research showing that “incarcerated youth are likely to experience a lower income earning capacity, become more reliant on government social programs as an adult, and are more likely than their peers to end up in the adult criminal justice system...." And most of the offenses that lead to these long-term social problems are minor and nonviolent and «could be punished using alternative options," adds Murphy.

Very disturbing is the fact that most SROs have not received any special training on how to deal with youth in school settings. One reason is that laws requiring special training or limiting the role of SROs are very inconsistent among states, with only 12 requiring special training.

Now the Dignity in Schools Campaign is calling on legislation to "End the Regular Presence of Law Enforcement in Schools" AND "Create Safe Schools through Positive Safety and Discipline Measures."

Sign this petition to insist that Congress pass laws limiting the role of SROs in all states and requiring special training for all SROs.

To Members of Congress and the House Committee on Education:


The National Association of School Resources Officers agrees that all SROs should receive special training to know how to deal properly with youth, and that the role of the SRO should be limited. Dignity in Schools Campaign would add that it’s better, in most cases, to replace SROs with counselors and strictly limit SROs role to rare occasions and end any regular presence of law enforcement personnel in schools.


I, the undersigned, and those supporting this petition say there is a need for uniform laws governing SROs in all states with the recommendations of both these organizations and Senator Murphy taken into serious consideration.


We ask Congress to stop delaying legislation on this matter and, at the very least, require all SROs in all states to have special training regarding working with youth and with minority and disabled students and restrict the role of SROs to special circumstances rather than routine disciplinary matters.


Thanks for your time.


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