Criminal Justice Reform Act and SROs in Massachusetts

• In Event: Examining the Effect of Schools on Juvenile Justice Outcomes

Abstract

In response to gang violence spilling over into schools, Zero Tolerance discipline arose during the 1990’s with the federal requirement for automatic suspensions of students caught with a firearm. Mass school shootings in suburbia reinforced the pressure for school administrators to institute tough disciplinary policy. However, research evaluating the effectiveness of zero tolerance shows no measurable improvement in school safety. These policies breed a hostile school climate and a decline in academic achievement in the face of increased school exclusions. Various researchers note that the confluence of ZT and School Resource Officers (SROs) produces a punitive school climate, forming the bedrock of the school to prison pipeline. The SRO operates as a tool in the formal social control toolkit utilized disproportionately by authoritarian school administrators.
As an antidote to this punitive approach to school discipline, the state of Massachusetts put into law An Act Relative to Criminal Justice Reform of 2018. This ground-breaking legislation offers a variety of measures regarding juvenile justice, and specifically addresses SROs:
• Decriminalizes “Disturbing Lawful Assembly” and Disorderly Conduct” in schools
• School administration NOT SROs responsible for enforcing school discipline. SROs dedicated to public safety only.
• Standards for hiring and training of SROs

Author

• Aviva M. Rich-Shea, Massasoit Community College