Study by ACLU finds police presence hurts education process

School police hurt Washington students’ ability to learn, according to a new ACLU study.

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The study dug into dozens of police contracts and student testimonials from schools around the state. It shows that students who are reprimanded by a police are less likely to graduate and more likely to be arrested as an adult.

The study’s author, Vanessa Hernandez, says in most cases, schools are not allowed to train the officers in their classrooms, nor are they allowed any input on who they are hiring.

“On average, schools pay about $62,000 per officer and as much as $125,000 per officer,” Hernandez told KIRO Radio. “In a time of tight educational funding, those are significant resources and ones that deserve a hard look.

“We need to really consider why do we have police in schools and are there other ways that we can do this which don’t carry the same risks of criminalizing students.”

Hernandez argues that students talking back to teachers, and even fights are things that can be handled by school staff. If police are pulled from school grounds, she admits teachers and other staff may need to go through more training to manage issues that arise with their students.

According to Hernandez, students who are arrested are twice as likely to drop out of school. A student who is prosecuted is four times as likely to drop out, she says.

According to data presented by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, around 78 percent of students in the class of 2015 graduated on time. That’s slightly improved over the previous year.

Taking police out of schools isn’t supported by everyone, however. As mass shootings in public schools continue to plague the country, some have called for an increased law enforcement presence or calls to allow teachers to carry weapons.