School resource officers are intended to help keep students safe, but current federal data show that Black children and students with disabilities remain disproportionately exposed to school-based referrals and arrests. Parents need to know where safety responsibilities end and routine student discipline begins.

A school resource officer, commonly called an SRO, is a sworn law-enforcement officer assigned to work with a school. According to the National Association of School Resource Officers, an SRO is not simply a security guard. The officer has law-enforcement authority and generally carries the equipment used during other police assignments.

The number and placement of officers vary by district. The old recommendation of one SRO for every 1,000 students is no longer presented as a universal standard. NASRO now recommends considering the size and layout of the campus, school climate, location and the availability of other safety personnel. The organization also recommends at least one carefully selected and specially trained SRO in every school.

Federal data provide a broader picture. During the 2021–22 school year, approximately 45% of public schools reported having sworn law-enforcement officers who routinely carried a firearm. The percentage was higher in secondary and high schools, at 63%, and middle schools, at 62%.

The Latest Data on Black Students and School Policing

The most recent nationwide figures from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2021–22 Civil Rights Data Collection, released in January 2025, show that Black students continue to be overrepresented in referrals to law enforcement and school-related arrests.

Students with disabilities were also disproportionately affected. Children served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act represented 14% of public-school enrollment but 25% of students referred to law enforcement and 25% of students arrested in connection with school.

A separate 2024 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that Black and American Indian or Alaska Native students were arrested at rates two to three times higher than White students in the most recent pre-pandemic data. The disparities became even wider for boys with disabilities.

Black students made up 15% of public-school enrollment but 33% of students subjected to school-related arrests in 2021–22.

Why the Role of an SRO Matters

The presence of an officer does not automatically mean that a school is mistreating students. A properly trained SRO may respond to serious threats, help develop emergency procedures and build positive relationships with students. NASRO describes an officer’s appropriate functions through a three-part model that includes law enforcement, education and informal counseling or mentoring.

The danger appears when schools rely on police officers to handle behavior that educators and administrators should address. Talking back, violating a dress code, using a phone, refusing to leave a classroom or becoming emotionally dysregulated may require intervention, but these situations do not automatically require arrest or criminal charges.

The American Civil Liberties Union describes the school-to-prison pipeline as a pattern in which under-resourced schools rely on police and exclusionary discipline instead of adequate educational and behavioral support. Earlier reporting from Vox also examined how the presence of police can turn school behavior into criminal allegations.

• Routine school-rule violations being referred to police instead of handled by educators.
• Black students receiving harsher consequences than similarly situated classmates.
• Disability-related behavior being treated as willful defiance or criminal misconduct.
• Vague rules concerning disruption, disrespect, disorderly conduct or insubordination.
• Officers becoming involved before parents, counselors or appropriate support staff are contacted.

These risks are why every district should have a written agreement explaining the SRO’s role. That agreement should distinguish a criminal or immediate safety matter from an ordinary violation of the student code of conduct. In a Justice Department consent order involving a Mississippi school district, the district was required to limit law-enforcement involvement to circumstances involving legal requirements, physical safety, public safety or appropriate responses to criminal conduct by people other than students. The order also required positive interventions and corrective strategies before excluding students from class, except during serious and immediate safety emergencies.

Zero-Tolerance Discipline Can Remove Context

A zero-tolerance policy assigns a predetermined consequence to a specific violation, often without giving educators sufficient room to consider intent, age, disability, individual circumstances or the seriousness of the behavior. The original article cited this legal explanation of zero-tolerance policies and reporting from APM Reports about school-discipline reform.

Current federal guidance recommends safer, more inclusive and fair learning environments. The U.S. Department of Education’s Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive and Fair School Climates urges schools to administer discipline fairly, treat students with dignity and monitor policies for disparities.

The National Education Association also recommends restorative practices and alternatives to exclusionary discipline. Restorative approaches focus on accountability, repairing harm and rebuilding relationships instead of automatically removing a child from school.

Students With Disabilities Have Additional Protections

Parents of children with disabilities should know that a school cannot ignore a student’s disability during disciplinary decisions. Federal guidance explains how Section 504 applies to student discipline. Children covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act may also have protections related to removals, educational placement and behavior connected to their disability.

If a disciplinary removal would change an eligible child’s educational placement, the school may need to hold a manifestation determination review. This meeting examines whether the behavior was caused by, or substantially related to, the child’s disability or resulted from the school’s failure to implement the child’s Individualized Education Program.

What Black Parents Can Do

Questions to Ask Your School

• Is an SRO assigned to this school, and is the officer armed?
• Can I receive a copy of the agreement defining the officer’s responsibilities?
• Are SROs prohibited from enforcing routine classroom discipline?
• Under what circumstances can a student be questioned or searched?
• When must a parent or guardian be contacted?
• What de-escalation, disability and adolescent-development training has the officer completed?
• Does the school publish discipline, referral and arrest data by race and disability?
• What complaint and appeal procedures are available to families?

Safety and Civil Rights Must Exist Together

Parents should not have to choose between schools that are safe and schools that respect their children’s rights. Schools can prepare for genuine emergencies without criminalizing ordinary childhood behavior. The most protective policies clearly limit police involvement, require specialized training, preserve disability rights and examine whether particular groups of students are being treated more harshly.

Black parents have every right to ask how officers are selected, what authority they have and what data show about their impact. Those questions are not anti-safety. They are part of making sure that every child is protected physically, emotionally, educationally and legally.

For additional SBP coverage, read I’m a Teacher, and Arming Teachers Puts Black Students at Risk and our reporting on how preschool suspensions and expulsions can contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.

Written and updated by Janice Robinson-Celeste for Successful Black Parenting Magazine.