Tennessee study raises questions on school police officers
Local governments that want to establish school police departments will have to determine whether hallway cops will be considered school officials or law enforcement officers. That difference will have to be clarified when it comes to searching students or disclosing their records, according to a study written by the state Department of Education. The report was commissioned by Tennessee legislators to determine the possibility of school systems having their own police forces. Among issues that could create “a legal grey area:” (1) Having a school police force could change the requirements for justifying student searches; (2) Federal law places limits on school officials filing juvenile court petitions against special-education students. Would the same regulation apply to law enforcement officers; (3) Student records maintained by districts are subject to a federal privacy act. School police forces would have to determine which records were education records and which were police records. Many school districts, such as Knox County, use a combination of their own security or resource officers and local law enforcement agencies. With a school police force, “money is always an issue,” said Steve Griffin, Knox County Schools security chief. But “I like to be optimistic and think someday this may come about in some way, shape or form. I'm always interested in doing anything that I feel would help the school system.” He said he found the study “ambiguous,” however, because it didn't take a strong stance. What's done next will be left up to state lawmakers, to whom the report was forwarded and who may pass legislation relating to the issue.
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, 1/28/08, By Lola Alapo
[Editor’s Note: The report, and an earlier one from the department making recommendations about school resource officer (SRO) programs and providing a list of additional resources, are below.]
School police departments report
SRO recommendations