The Impact of School Police Reform on Student Safety and School Experiences

• In Event: Perspectives on School Safety

Abstract

This mixed-methods study examines the impact of reforms resulting in the removal of school police on student outcomes. The quasi-experimental study takes advantage of widespread reforms in California to compare districts that removed school police during 2019–20 or 2020–21 with matched comparison districts that did not remove school police. The study examines the impact on middle and high school students’ reported safety, behavior, and well-being and suspension data and how these outcomes vary by race/ethnicity. This study also examines differential impacts based on schools’ mental health supports and policing structure. These findings are critical to the national focus on the potential detrimental effects school police may have on students and whether there is evidence to support removing them.

Authors

• Arena C. Lam, WestEd

• Trevor Fronius, WestEd