SC, Don't Allow School Resource Officers to Discipline Students!

  • by: Susan V
  • recipient: SC Department of Education

The recent attack on a South Carolina high school student by an armed resource officer has launched a debate over what should be the role of these officers. Many agree that Officer Ben Fields acted inappropriately, if not criminally, in this incident. However, there seem to be no clear, standard guidelines as to what school resource officers should be doing.

In an interview with NPR, University Of South Carolina law school professor Seth Stoughton said a school resource officer’s role is to assist “with anything that would involve a criminal law component - for example, the presence of a firearm on campus.” Nevertheless, he says, some schools use SROs to assist with discipline.

Joseph Goralczyk, who participated in a pilot program to implement the SRO Program in Baltimore, agrees with Stoughton that "SROs are not school disciplinarians" and should not be involved with school rule violations.

However a spokesperson with the US Department of Education says state departments of education can decide what role SROs play in schools, and a spokesperson for the SC Department of Education said they allow individual schools to decide.

Despite these hands-off policies, this latest shocking incident of violence against a student at Spring Valley High calls for the SC Department of Education to get involved. Sign this petition to insist SC set clear guidelines that prevent police involvement in school disciplinary matters.


We, the undersigned, say the outrageous and dangerous attack on the student at Spring Valley High calls for the South Carolina Department of Education to get involved in limiting School Resource Officers’ involvement in school discipline.


Officer Fields’ superior told CNN that Fields bore “some responsibility." This and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott‘s other comments make it is clear that Spring Valley High has been one that involves SRO’s in school disciplinary matters.


Not only was Fields's actions in this particular incident inappropriate, but based on the US Department of Education’s “Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline," along with recent concerns and school policies regarding brain injuries among school athletes emphasizing the effects of TBIs on behavior and learning, Fields's actions and his presence in the school were completely counterproductive to the goal of improving student behavior and learning overall. The US Department of Education’s publication stresses the importance of “nurturing, positive, and safe environments” that are” needed to boost student achievement and success.”


When there are police officers at school who have a reputation for violence and prejudice toward certain students, it’s very unlikely this most essential goal can be achieved. Furthermore the last thing students with developing brains need is to be knocked down and dragged or otherwise physically assaulted by officers who are supposed to be in schools to make them feel safe. Nor should children and juveniles, whose brains and judgment capability have not completely developed, be arrested and charged with adult crimes.


Even more disturbing, Stoughton told NPR, “We have such an appalling lack of information about police violence that even as someone who researches, who studies police professionally and has done so for years, I cannot tell you how often police use violence in schools.” Clearly there should be records kept of these incidents, but the best way to stop them is to exclude disciplinary matters from SROs role.


All of these police-related issues have no place in schools and school disciplinary matters. Therefore we insist South Carolina’s Department of Education take charge and clearly define the role of SROs in its schools statewide and eliminate their involvement in school disciplinary matters.

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