Jenn C just commented on here about the debate over School Resource Officers (SROs) in Delaware schools and if they are needed or not. There are valid arguments about the issue, but with the controversy over Officer Fields down in South Carolina, more people are talking about this. As a father of a student with disabilities, this mother’s fear is very real to parents. And what happened to her child is absolutely appalling. I hope she gets some sort of justice on this matter.
Training is the key. My daughter is restrained when all of her other supports fail. I do know that her entire team including the principal and other support staff are trained and if she says “you are hurting me” they have to let go. That being said – more SROs is not the answer. I met with Rep. Williams about an incident last year where the SROs got involved with a student with a BIP and IEP and removed the student from school and took him to the local hospital where he was committed and parental rights were removed even when mom was right there and no one consulted her. This incident in the media recently is not the first of over the top abuse of power by SROs. I have been fighting them being in the schools because of the stats showing that special needs kids, at risk kids and minorities suffer when police are present. I have been fighting for years and it seems no one is listening.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2013/11/10/a-special-needs-debate-over-police-in-schools/3485837/
The Season Of Myths 
No one, and I mean NO ONE outside the school system has a clue of what we are dealing with on a regular basis. In a very real way, every child is a window into the home, and there are clearly so many troubled homes sending troubled kids to the schools. What can the school do for them? Should schools be required to offer psychiatric services, pay for in patient services? what referendum with cover that?
But we don’t touch them at our school.
If they don’t want to be in class, or ISS, they are free to roam. If the parents don’t want to come pick them up, they can roam all day. We don’t touch them. When they become angry, they might tear everything hanging in a hallway down, they might throw a fire extinguisher, then pick it up and throw it again, or kick out a window, or break furniture. We don’t touch them.
No, we don’t need an SRO. pretty soon the charters with have all the peaceful kids, and the public schools will be holding tanks for those with behavior problems.
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Absolutely agree with this parent. SROs should NOT be in schools especially elementary schools. This parent should be commended for standing up and asking how a child with a disability will be treated while attending school. More parents should be as pro-active as this one.
Actions taken by SROs in schools in this past month (see below articles) have shown they use excessive force against the youngest of children. Don’t be fooled by the SRO proclamations, their colorful slide shows, and happy speeches about, “they are here to help”. It’s a front for what will become an atmosphere of fear and intimidation aimed at the school children. SROs are do not degrees in education, they are not physicians, psychologists, or counselors, they are law enforcement officers and they use adult procedures against the most vulnerable – elementary school children. The Basic School Resource Officer Course is a forty-hour (40) block of instruction designed for any law enforcement officer with two years or less experience working in an educational environment and school administrators. SROs training is in law enforcement, emergency procedures, and problem solving.
Every parent in DE should be asking the DOE to post a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement (MOU/A) between the school and the law enforcement entity that has been assigned to a particular school and specifically outline what the SROs responsibilities are. As a rule, school officials are responsible for all disciplinary matters, while the school resource officer is responsible for responding to all criminal acts committed at the school. Clearly, this is not the rule as seen from reports that SROs man-handled school children in various states. Determining what role each entity plays will prevent confusion and support the development of strong partnerships.
A written contract or MOU/A should ensure that both law enforcement and the school understands the duties and responsibilities of each.
A description of each type of service to be provided • A description of the location(s) the service will be provided • Measure or quantify each type of service for billing purposes • The amount that will be billed per service • The supporting documentation, such as time sheets and other records, prepared, submitted, and filed to support the costs of the program • A description of the billing cycle • The time period for which funding will be provided • The maximum dollar amount that will be paid for the time period of the inter-local agreement • If applicable, a description of how ancillary costs, such as travel, supplies, etc., are to be documented and billed.
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Police Apologize For Handcuffing 7-Year-Old Student in Flint, Michigan
BY JACQUELLENA CARRERO NBC NEWS
Michigan police are apologizing for handcuffing a 7-year-old boy at his elementary school last month. The incident happened on October 12 at Brownell STEM Academy’s after-school program, which is run by the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce. Chrystal McCadden, the mother of the 7-year-old boy, said she got a call from the school to pick up her son. When she arrived, his wrists were bound. Flint police said in a statement Friday that the student “appeared intent on injuring himself” and was handcuffed to prevent injury to himself and other students. “The officer used handcuffs to restrain the child to prevent injury to the child or others,” the statement said. McCadden told NBC affiliate WEYI that her son has ADHD but isn’t violent and didn’t deserve to be handcuffed. She recorded video of her son with his hands cuffed behind his back when she got to the school.
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Police Called to Classroom in South Carolina High School to Remove Student
Oct. 27, 2015, a South Carolina school resource officer was fired after flipping an 18-year-old student in her chair. This is not a single incident with the SRO, he has a pending court case schedule for January 2016 for a similar act against a student.
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Police Handcuff 8 Year Old Who Has ADHD
In August 2015, an 8-year old Kentucky boy with ADHD was handcuffed at school by a Kenton County Sheriff’s Deputy after failing to obey his teacher. The SRO handcuffed the boys upper arms in back against his should blades, causing the boy to complain about the pain and was crying.
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You guys are all way out of left field!
You’d better believe we need SRO’s in schools. Kids today are rude and disrespectful. As far as the comment about charters getting all of the pleasant kids….You must be out of your GOD-DAMN-MIND! Evidently, you have not been to MET, Eastside, FFA, Prestige or any other predominantly black charter school. These schools need an entire fucking police force, not a single SRO!
If kids didn’t come from baby mama’s on crack, and drug infested families, we wouldn’t need these SRO’s. The problem is we keep making excuses for these kids, then they turn out to be the next Michael Brown because we keep saying they are misunderstood.
Hell, I am a hard working black man, and I am sick to fucking death of seeing our children act like a bunch of damn animals in these schools. I pulled my grandchildren out of FFA because it was a damn zoo. I am working two jobs to help my daughter pay for their private education. They now attend a private school where there is truly no need for an SRO.
I still stay in touch with some staff that I befriended. The police are coming into these schools anyway; they may as well just have an SRO stationed there. At least they’d save fuel.
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Thanks Ginny H. The data shows that behaviors in schools are not on the rise as many would have you believe. There are so many factors involved and there needs to be better options and more discussion. I even called Michelle from Sandy Hook – a teacher and parent who experienced that horrific episode. She was not for SROs accross the board especially if the district doesnt have the money and its not a recommendation of Homeland Security. Looking forward to talking to more people about thus topic. Its time for this issue to come to the forefront!
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ask ANY teacher about the “data”. it’s great if you like fudge.
and I speak of suburban charters skimming from suburban schools. I do know what’s going on there.
my statement about not needing SRO’s- facetious- which should be inferred by its context.
Let’s keep it civil.
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Right – ask any Teacher. The majority of the complaints of increased behaviors and disruptive students is coming from teachers and teachers only. I love teachers – the good ones. If you teach to have summers off and to have job security and tenure or you expect to have a perfect classroom with perfect children every year, then you are in the wrong profession. We had disruptive students when I was in school many years ago and guess what? The teachers dealt with it. The principals dealt with it and the counselors dealt with it. Do I think that teachers deserve more help and support in their classrooms? Absolutely! Do I think that police should be stationed in elementary schools to give them a false sense of security while at the same time endangering special needs, at-risk and minority children? No way! The national incident was a perfect example of what I am talking about. A disruptive student that could have and should have been handled by the school – either the teacher, principal or counselor – gets thrown across the room by a SRO because no one else wants to address it. Am I the only one that has a problem with that? Was she armed? No. Was she threatening? No. So please explain to me why no one in the school wanted to address this situation? Schools should not become police states solely because educators don’t believe discipline is part of their job. Our educational system nationwide is screwed up enough and you add police to it and expect a good outcome? This has significantly increased the rate of criminal offenses in schools which then creates a school to prison pipeline – mostly for at-risk and minority students. I see that as a self-fulfilling prophecy – the teachers that complain about the kids get to then say “see we told you they were all bad.” As a parent and a Sunday School teacher, I can’t understand why more parents aren’t outraged by this. I have no problem with the police and the amazing things they do in our communities. This isn’t about them. This is about protecting and properly educating our kids without the fear of being locked up for cracking a joke during class or running in the hallway.
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/28/9626820/police-school-resource-officers
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to Jenn C, I know VERY few teachers who teach to have a paycheck and have summers off. In fact, I suspect only a couple in over 20 years of teaching. I cannot help but wonder how long it has been since you were in a classroom. NO teacher does not want to deal with discipline. WE ARE NOT PERMITTED to. can you get that?
we can make a reasonable request. that’s it. if the student does not comply then it’s “live with it” and after class, or after school, write a referral, and call the parent. The dean follows up.
the only time, ONLY time we can ask to have a kid removed is if they are an immediate danger to themselves or another. I’m done with talking to people who don’t know what is really going on. The rules have changed Jenn C.
done.
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I have been deeply involved with education for years and you don’t know me so please don’t insult me by implying I don’t know what is going on. If the issue is the policy or lack thereof, then the complaints shouldn’t be about the students it should be about the lack of discipline policy and support. I sit in classrooms many times during a school year. Have I seen disruptive behaviors? Yep. Did the teacher handle it? Sometimes. Teachers need more support and assistance in the classroom – not for any other reason than the expectations that come with inclusion are such that one person, no matter how well trained, informed and educated they are, can’t control a 20% special needs population with an 80% typical population every day. I understand your frustration but putting police in schools isn’t the answer which is why I am asking for more dialogue and better options. And you are not the only person who is frustrated. Parents are, Administrators are, staff is, etc. We all need to be at the table having this discussion so we can trouble shoot the problems and try to find ways to make it better for everyone.
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I think a lot of the opinions on this are very localized. Every school district is different, and have different populations in them. I can say one of the commenters on here comes from a very tough school district and they have certain mandates which make a teacher’s job VERY tough.
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