Discipline and Infraction Data – A National Review
The public availability of school discipline and infraction data provides opportunities for researchers, policy analysts, and the public to examine the disciplinary practices and behavioral contexts of schools. In a forthcoming publication, Center Director Dr. F....
Research Report: The Expanding Presence of Law Enforcement in Florida Schools
The presence of law enforcement in public schools has been a common security practice in the state of Florida for several decades. Following the tragic 2018 school shooting in Parkland, FL, the state passed a law requiring all public schools to either have law enforcement or other armed personnel present. Drawing on state-wide data for the school years 2014-15 through 2018-19, this report examined the relationship between law enforcement in schools and a number of outcomes including reports of behavioral incidents to the state, incidents reported to law enforcement, school arrests, and exclusionary discipline. This analysis used statistical techniques that controlled for both observable characteristics of districts and schools as well as unobserved characteristics that were fixed over time. Findings suggest that the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act significantly increased the presence of law enforcement in schools, particularly in elementary schools. The presence of law enforcement in schools was related to increases in the number of behavioral incidents reported to the state, the number of such incidents reported to law enforcement, and student arrests. The results suggest a need to reconsider whether law enforcement should be present in schools, and, if they are, how they can be implemented in a way that minimizes unnecessary exposure of students to law enforcement and arrests.
Policy Brief: Florida School Reopening Plans: Initial Plans from Mid-July
This policy brief provides preliminary evidence on Florida school districts’ plans for reopening of schools for the coming academic school year. Drawing on the UF Education Policy Research Center’s Florida School Reopening Plans Database, this policy brief documents that, as of mid-July, about one quarter of Florida schools had not publicly released reopening plans. Of those that had, about three quarters detailed plans for a new digital/virtual learning option. Of districts with public plans, very few had plans to limit class sizes, about one third detailed plans to require masks in some situations, and a handful of districts had plans to mandate masks at all times. This brief is the first in a series that will track the development of reopening plans through the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.
Policy Brief: School Preparedness Plans for Pandemics and Continuity of Education
The recent and ongoing COVID-19 global health pandemic has drastically altered the learning environment of K-12 students nationwide, resulting in disrupted education for students and rapidly evolving responses by the public education system. While difficult to prepare for a pandemic of this scale, this policy brief demonstrates that about a quarter of school districts and the majority of schools nationwide did not have response plans in place for an infectious disease pandemic prior to COVID-19. Furthermore, the prevalence of these plans had been on the decline for the past decade following a rapid increase between 2008 and 2010. This policy brief also demonstrates that, of potential crises examined in national surveys, response plans for pandemics or infectious diseases were among the least likely to exist compared to other disasters (i.e. natural disasters, school shootings, etc.). Finally, this brief highlights the fact that the majority of schools did not report having plans in place to ensure the continuity of education in the face of a disruption to in-person instruction.