Should the Feds Report on the Number & Status of School Resource Officers in Public Schools? (H.R. 5242)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 5242?
(Updated November 4, 2018)
This bill, known as the “School Resource Officer Assessment Act of 2018,” would direct the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of Education to gather data about the number and status (full- or part-time) of school resource officers assigned to each public school.
Argument in favor
Congress should get a sense of public schools’ usage of school resource officers as it develops solutions for improving school safety. ‘Hardening targets’ such as schools, using local law enforcement and resources can better protect our institutions from those wishing to do harm.
Argument opposed
Congress shouldn’t be compiling data on the prevalence of school resource officers as the militarization of schools is bad for education, and will do little to further secure schools and other potential targets from those wishing to commit acts of violence.
Impact
Local Law Enforcement; students; the Attorney General; and the Dept. of Education.
Cost of H.R. 5242
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), the School Resource Officer Assessment Act of 2018 would examine school safety standards:
“American schools are soft targets, and as a nation, we must change that. Airlines used to be soft targets, they’re certainly not anymore. Right now, there is no comprehensive data regarding the deployment of school safety assets in schools across our nation.”
Additionally, Higgins is working on the School Watch and Training (SWAT) Act. This measure would set federal standards for tactical training for school resource officers.
“School resource officers by and large have a particular ability to communicate with kids, they have a great deal of patience, they know how to help young American make it through the difficult times of the teenage years.”
Of Note: In order to curb violence in America’s schools, communities have employed increased security in the form of police, or “Community Resource Officers.” These officers, in most cases, would act as armed guards in order to “harden” schools from such violence by serving as a deterrent and first line of defense.
Media
Summary by Lucas McConnell
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