Effects of School Officers on Student Outcomes

Schools with greater shares of Black or Hispanic students are more likely to have school police officers (SPOs) and assigning SPOs to schools is associated with a number of negative outcomes, such increased reported school crime rates and decreased high school graduation rates. Education policy scholars Ericka Weathers and Kenneth Shores will examine the effects of school-based policing in Pennsylvania and its effects on student outcomes. They will analyze administrative data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for their study.