A new report from the ACLU of Iowa finds school resource officers, or SROs, disproportionately discipline and arrest Black students and students with disabilities.
The report looked at the most recent federal data for hundreds of Iowa school districts from the 2021 school year.
Black students were arrested at a rate nearly four times others. And students with disabilities were either referred to law enforcement or arrested at a rate more than double other students.
Jacob Sarisin is a legal fellow who worked on the report. He says schools without SROs have explored other alternatives, like having security guards.
“The difference between having an armed law enforcement officer that has arrest authority and a security guard who doesn't have arrest authority is pretty significant," Sarisin said.
The report recommends schools eliminate school resource officers or add more training for the officers.
