Report: Louisiana schools fall short on collecting, publishing policing data
As the presence of law enforcement officers in schools continue to grow in Louisiana and nationally, school policing data is not being made readily available to Louisiana鈥檚 citizens as required by federal law, according to a report that the Southern Poverty Law Center released today.
The report, The Data Gap: School Policing in Louisiana, analyzes the lack of data needed to measure the effectiveness of school policing programs 鈥� data that can help determine whether taxpayer dollars should be used to create and expand such programs, evaluate whether schools are complying with federal anti-discrimination laws, and measure whether schools are safe and welcoming for all students. The report was authored by Cheyenne Blackburn,聽人兽性交鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Rights聽outreach paralegal.
The U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights collects data from public schools to ensure they do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or disability. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act additionally requires data collection on school quality, climate and safety. However, Louisiana school districts are not consistently meeting federal data requirements, according to Blackburn鈥檚 report.
鈥淲ithout this data, it is impossible to know whether tax dollars are being responsibly spent to ensure the safety and well-being of all students,鈥� said Karen Baynes-Dunning, 人兽性交 interim president and CEO. 鈥淐omprehensive data collection and reporting is essential to help school officials create and maintain safe and welcoming learning environments for every student. Research shows that students of color, 人兽性交 students, and students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by the presence of school resource officers.鈥�
Blackburn surveyed eight school districts in the 鈥淔lorida Parishes鈥� region of Louisiana: Bogalusa City Schools, Livingston Parish Public Schools, Northshore Charter School, St. Helena Parish School District, St. Tammany Parish Public School System, Tangi Academy, Tangipahoa Parish School System and Washington Parish School System 鈥� as well as the parishes鈥� law enforcement agencies 鈥� for data on school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement.
Only two school districts provided data broken down into various categories such as students鈥� race, sex and disability status 鈥� as required by federal law. Three districts said they had no such records. Others provided incomplete or inaccurate data. The 人兽性交 was unable to determine the number of school resource officers in these school districts from the records collected by Blackburn.聽
To address the gaps in what school discipline and school policing data must be reported under Louisiana compared to federal law, in the 2019 legislative session, the 人兽性交 worked with state Rep. Joseph Bouie, D-New Orleans, to pass the Louisiana School Data Compliance Act.聽The legislation was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards on June 6, becoming Act 148. It goes into effect on Aug. 1.
鈥淎ct 148 will bring transparency and accountability to Louisiana鈥檚 public schools,鈥� Baynes-Dunning said. 鈥淏y collecting and analyzing more comprehensive data, school officials and parents alike will be able to promote the use of evidence-based programs to ensure that all our children are safe and being treated fairly in the classroom.鈥澛犅�
The 人兽性交鈥檚 report includes recommendations for the state Legislature, Department of Education, school boards and school districts to enhance data collection capabilities and improve data collection and reporting.
Photo by Melissa Golden/Redux
