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Schools or Prisons?

-- By DianaAvila - 26 Mar 2025

Introduction

Growing up, a unique, but common aspect of a community like mine was the policing that occurred within the walls of a school. Police officers and sheriffs roamed our hallways, this wasn’t something usual. Matter of fact, it was so normalized that we knew the names of the police officers who rotated in and out. Even though we knew their names, this did not mean we were friends nor were we “cool.” In reality, it was the complete opposite, they were there to scrutinize and criminalize every single movement we made in our schools. The officers on campus conducted sweeps, had K-9s on campus, and arrested students on site. This was all very perplexing to me because the way they presented themselves to us was more a staff role, rather than law enforcement. I still remember the first sweep I experienced. One day we were in class learning whatever the subject was, the next there were police officers telling us to leave all of our belongings in the classroom, but that we had to step outside. Next thing you know, there was a K-9 unit going into the classroom. I still remember the police officers that were waiting outside with us looking at us. They even came up to a few of us to ask us questions. And even in that moment, I didn’t understand why, but as I grew older I knew. It was because we were Black and Brown. Another memory I had was watching one of my loved ones being constantly scrutinized by police officers for things like how he dressed, who he hung around with, and how he spoke. I even saw him get arrested a few times, frisked another, suspended, and expelled. That same loved one was pushed into the prison system. Another Brown boy who was failed by the system simply because of how we looked and where we lived. The saddest part, this was not the only person I grew up with that was pushed into the school to prison pipeline.

Fourth Amendment in Schools

This came to mind when we discussed all the layers of the Fourth Amendment and the protections that are meant to come with it. The focus of a lot of it is on adults, arrests in areas other than schools, etc. Which to me, leaves one of the most vulnerable communities to fend for themselves, if even that. One thing about all of this that is very perplexing to me is that law enforcement is usually held to a probable cause standard unless very pressing circumstances are present that would make reasonable suspicion permissible. Yet, when it comes to a school setting, the standard is probable cause. The case law that is the basis for this is T.L.O v. New Jersey. Here the court discusses the need to protect schools and puts it on a balancing scale against the expectation of privacy of students. There is a constant back and forth between courts and whether or not officers at schools should be held to probable cause or reasonable suspicion.

Reasonable Suspicion vs Probable Cause?

From my perspective, reasonable suspicion is too risky and loose. Particularly, in the circumstances of students of color. A lot of schools in low income neighborhoods run strict procedures like the ones I experienced above, but also have other security measures in place like metal detectors and ID scans. All of which beg the question of how much privacy should students really expect on campus? And how much does a school setting really affect that expectation? Reasonable suspicion, to me, is very ambiguous because what really defines a “suspicion?” The other issue that concerns me is the room that this specific standard allots to the introduction of racial bias, whether explicit or implicit. The criminal system is already a pervasive issue in communities of color from the lack of resources and criminalization these communities undergo. Which inherently means that the children of these communities are not only under attack in their communities, but at their schools which are oftentimes seen as one of the only protective layers they have. School resource officers (law enforcement) play a key role in changing the lives of these students through the school to prison pipeline. There have been studies where these officers admit that they see students of color as the threat and are concerned more about what goes on inside the school. Whereas with their white counterparts, the threats are seen as external – what goes on outside of the schools. There is also research that shows that students of color receive harsher punishments for the same “disruptive” behavior their white counterparts display.

Conclusion

My conflict is with why the standard even changes for SROs. They do not receive school specific training, are not specialized in student behavior, amongst other things. The most daunting of all, they are not supposed to engage in school discipline. I worry for the future of students of color on campuses that are policed. I saw first hand the harmful effects it has, but now I see the legal implications that arise. There is no reason why a sworn-in officer, who only has that kind of training, should be held to a different standard solely based on location. Proponents of SROs believe they serve the purpose of minimizing crime and building positive relationships with students. The truth is, that is not the reality for this particular group of students. Their identities put them at risk and may be decisive for what their future may look like. Students should not only be protected via a probable cause standard, but there should be an expectation of privacy. Many try to argue that SROs are needed to prevent incidents like school shootings, but maybe it is time to accept that this is not the reality. Oftentimes there is even hesitancy to prevent them. It is time to admit that SROs serve no real purpose, and seem to only feed students of color into the public health crisis known as the school to prison pipeline.

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