Should the Feds Report on the Number & Status of School Resource Officers in Public Schools? (H.R. 607)

What is H.R. 607?

(Updated April 3, 2020)

This bill, known as the “School Resource Officer Assessment Act of 2019,” 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 (SROs) assigned to each public elementary and secondary 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. 607

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress to 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. We must ensure that our public schools have the necessary resources and a sufficient number of well-trained cops to protect our kids and teachers. These bills identify where assets are needed and establish enhanced training standards that will keep our schools safe."

Rep. Higgens added that this is a "common-sense" data-gathering bill that'll help federal and local jurisdictions "more effectively direct resources." He said: 

"The first step in promoting school safety should be to evaluate what assets are on the ground and identify where additional resources are needed."

Last Congress, Rep. Higgins introduced this bill along with the School Watch and Training (SWAT) Act, which sought to set federal standards for SROS' tactical training:

“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.”

This bill has one cosponsor, Rep. C.A. Dutch RuppersbergerCongress

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.” In most cases, these officers act as armed guards in order to “harden” schools from violence by serving as a deterrent and first line of defense.

Media

• Sponsoring Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) Press Release (115th Congress)
  
• KATC via YouTube (Local News)
  
• American Press