Spencer C. Weiler

Police at School: A Brief History and Current Status of School Resource Officers

Abstract The school resource officer (SRO) program began in the United States in the early to mid-1950s, however, the program did not gain prominence until the 1990s in response to various school shootings. According to national data, SROs can be found in 35 percent of school across America, regardless of level (elementary, middle, or high school), urbanicity (rural, town, suburban, or city), or enrollment size. However, there is currently a dearth of meaningful research addressing the role and effectiveness of SROs. This article reviews what is known concerning SROs in an effort to establish a foundation for future research centered on the effectiveness of SROs in ensuring students attend safe learning environments.

Policy to Practice: A Look at National and State Implementation of School Resource Officer Programs

Abstract In response to questions related to school safety, in the 1990s the school resource officer (SRO) program gained prominence as an effective intervention strategy. Despite the widespread utilization of SROs in Americas public schools, there exists a lack of meaningful research related to practices and effectiveness of SRO programs. A school resource officer is a sworn police officer assigned to a school or a group of schools during the school year. The SRO presence in a school is intended to increase school safety for students, staff, and community members. However, little is actually known about the SRO program and its ability to increase school safety. SRO assignment patterns are documented in this study along with the use of memorandums of understandings (MOU), or other intergovernmental agency agreements, and the role of the MOU in promoting a safe learning environment. School officials interested in increasing school safety through the use of the SRO program are encouraged to develop meaningful MOUs that establish clear guidelines related to the conduct of the sworn police officer in the school building.

The Fourth R-Revolvers: Principal Perceptions Related to Armed School Personnel and Related Legal Issues.

Abstract The United States has experienced several mass killings by firearms in the recent past, but none has stirred the passions of the nations citizens like the killing of innocent schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut. Debates immediately began regarding proposed solutions for making students safer in schools. One recommendation for promoting school safety in school was to arm school personnel, including building principals and teachers. Several states and individual school boards have already taken steps to begin arming educators, but there is no indication that the perceptions of building-level principals have been documented related to this proposal. The authors of this article surveyed current school principals to determine how they felt about the idea of arming school personnel. This article reports on the results of the survey and capsulizes the principals’ quantitative and qualitative input regarding the topic of having armed educators in schools.

Aligning Preparation and Practice An Assessment of Coherence in State Principal Preparation and Licensure

Principal standards and license requirements in each of the 50 states are analyzed in this qualitative study in light of federal Race to the Top incentives for states to strengthen school leadership preparation and practice. Nineteen states have adopted the 2008 Educational Leadership Consortium Council (ELCC) standards verbatim and the remaining 31 state principal standards include the basic tenets of ELCC standards, as well as additional standards that reflect each state’s particular focus. These standards are increasingly being used as the basis of practicing principals’ evaluations as part of states’ initiatives to secure federal Race to the Top funds. The ELCC standards also serve as the criteria for national principal preparation accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educational Programs. State requirements for obtaining a principal license, however, do not necessarily align with these professional standards of practice, which might indicate a gap in the principal development pipeline. Common license requirements focus primarily on basic requirements of teaching experience, degree or program completion, and passing a state assessment, but many states do not specify that preparation programs must be accredited, nor are state assessments necessarily aligned with ELCC standards. A rubric is provided for assessing the alignment of the components of a state school leadership licensure system that is aligned with the ELCC standards and reflects best practices found in the research regarding qualifications for school leadership.

Do Courts Consider the Degree of Discipline When Adjudicating Off-Campus Student Speech?.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this legal analysis was to determine if there was evidence suggesting that courts, when ruling on off-campus student speech cases that result in on-campus discipline, take into consideration the degree of discipline imposed by school officials. The analysis consisted of reviewing the 34 adjudicated and published cases that specifically address the issue of off-campus student speech resulting in on-campus discipline, dividing the cases into reasonable and unreasonable discipline groups, and documenting the outcomes of the cases in the two groups. Further analysis of themes in off-campus speech, the response by schools, and similarities in court decisions were noted.

Tempered Optimism in Colorado: 2015 State-of-the-State

The Colorado legislature is constitutionally obligated to provide the 178 school districts with an annual increase to the total program of at least the rate of inflation plus 1%. However, during the Great Recession this constitutional mandate became fiscally impossible to meet under the restraints of the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR).2 As a result, the negative factor, which recaptured state funds from school districts after those funds were allocated, allowed the state to meet its constitutional obligations amid the economic downturn. The top priority for school leaders is to see the negative factor repealed. In addition, there is a push to get the per pupil expenditure (PPE) back to pre-Great Recession levels (the average PPE is roughly

Charter School Barriers: Do Enrollment Requirements Limit Student Access to Charter Schools?

250 below the pre-recession level).3

Principal Preparedness: Superintendent Perceptions of New Principals.

The potential of the charter school movement to positively influence traditional public education lies in the ability of charter school officials to provide all students access to the curriculum. The aim of this study was to document potential registration and enrollment barriers incorporated into the practices of Colorado charter schools. The barriers discussed in this article include parent commitment requirements, fees, registration, and lottery information. The findings from this study suggest that Colorado charter schools have created specific barriers to registration that could impede some students from fully participating in charter schools. The researchers conclude the study with a call for charter schools to increase transparency related to every aspect of the registration and enrollment process and work to eliminate the identified barriers.