School Resource Officer Data Reporting (H 6649A, S 2578)

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 will ensure that information on school-based arrests or SRO-related incidents on school campuses, including the number of SROs employed by a school, is 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 will help provide communities and the public better oversight of SRO programs. Positively, this bill passed both the House and the Senate.