School Resource Officer Data Reporting (H 5827 A)

Though the presence of law enforcement personnel on school campuses in the form of School Resource Officers (SROs) is fairly common across Rhode Island, there is no standardized requirement for the publication of data regarding their actions or their presence. We strongly supported a bill which would have ensured that information on school-based arrests or SRO-related incidents on school campuses, including the number of SROs employed by a school, was made publicly available. Especially because SROs have proven - through both anecdotal evidence and court cases we have handled - to be harmful to students, this measure would have helped provide communities and the public better oversight of SRO programs. Unfortunately, while this bill passed the House, it died in the Senate.