U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, applauded the announcement from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice on Thursday of new guidance for school resource officers. Specifically, the Departments provided new guidelines for local schools that use school resource officers and campus police to promote safe learning environments and improve discipline practices while safeguarding students’ civil rights.

“Before students can learn, they first need to feel safe in their classrooms. Too often, when we get the role of police officers in schools wrong, we’ve seen kids get caught up in a ‘school-to-prison pipeline,’ arrested and referred to law enforcement for minor misbehavior. For local schools that use school resource officers, today’s announcement provides clear guidelines on how to get it right,” said Murphy. “I have worked hard to improve federal policies on disciplinary practices in our schools, and I’m glad the Obama administration collaborated with educators and advocates to develop these common sense tools that schools can put in place right now to improve safety and school climate for their students.”

Murphy authored provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act, which repealed No Child Left Behind, to improve school climate. Specifically, his provision requires states to submit report cards including rates of suspensions, expulsions, school-related arrests, and referrals to law enforcement, which disproportionately affect students of color and students with disabilities. States are also required to submit plans for how they will reduce the use of discipline practices that threaten student safety, including seclusion and restraint. Additionally, Murphy fought for guidance on the appropriate use of school resource officers, which was included in the 2016 Commerce Justice and Science appropriations bill. The bill directed that COPS grantees using funds to hire school resource officers provide proper training and clearly define officers’ roles and responsibilities on campus. Murphy is also a sponsor of the Better Options for Kids Act with U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to incentivize states to replace overly harsh school disciplinary actions with positive behavioral interventions.

Click here for more information on the Obama administration’s efforts on safety and improving school discipline and school climate.