In First-Ever Survey, School Police Speak Up

Who are the nation’s school police officers? Have they received adequate training to work with youths? And how prepared do they believe their campuses are for a mass shooting event? In a first-of-its-kind survey, Education Week got answers to these and many more questions from school resource officers. Reporter Evie Blad and Holly Yettick, the director of the Education Week Research Center, discuss the findings and their implications on this episode of EWA Radio. For instance, one in five respondents said their school is not prepared to handle an active-shooter situation. Most school resource officers carry a gun and handcuffs, and 30 percent wear a body camera, the data show. Also, about one-third said their schools do not set limits on their role in student discipline. Blad and Yettick unpack the data and offer guidance for how local reporters can use it to inform their coverage of campus safety.

Education Week Research Center School Policing Survey Report