Partners or
Co-Defendants?: Legislating the Relationship between School Districts and Law
Enforcement
Miranda Johnson, Loyola University Chicago
There has been increased public attention to the actions of
law enforcement officers stationed within our nation’s schools. In particular,
concerns have been raised regarding handcuffing of young children and children
with disabilities, use of force by officers, and inappropriate involvement of
officers in routine school discipline matters. A growing number of cases have
been filed alleging that the conduct of law enforcement officers violated
students’ rights.
In order to address these concerns, researchers and national
organizations have recommended putting in place a more structured relationship
between school districts and law enforcement and increasing the training
provided to officers working in schools. Several school districts have
instituted such changes in the form of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) that
clearly delineate the division of responsibilities between school administrators
and law enforcement, and set criteria for selection of school resource officers,
impose training requirements, and create a monitoring and evaluation process. There
has also been more state legislation in the areas of MoUs and training for
school police, and the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida has led to greater
concern about school safety that has accelerated legislative changes in this
area.
This article highlights findings from a 50-state legislative
survey of polices regarding school police, with a particular focus on recent
legislation in four states. The article concludes by exploring lessons learned
from these experiences that can inform legislative and policy initiatives in
other states.
Trauma-Responsive IEPs
Nicole Tuchinda, Georgetown University Law Center
Recent, robust research makes clear that childhood trauma,
such as abuse or neglect in the home or community violence, can significantly
cause and exacerbate disabilities in learning and behavior. Such research shows
that the nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), must become “trauma-responsive” in order to improve
outcomes for the many children who do not respond to conventional responses to
misbehavior and academic failure. The imperative to make special education
trauma-informed isn’t just moral, however, it is also legal. IDEA operates on
the premise that research-based data should drive decision-making about who
qualifies for special education and how and what special education should be
provided. IDEA’s “Child Find” mandate also requires public school systems to
identify, evaluate, and provide special education to all children with
disabilities who need special education. Now, the research-based data about
trauma reveals that children whose school performance is disabled by trauma
must be “found,” and their special education must embody trauma-responsive
principles, including building skills in self-regulation and promoting a sense
of safety and connection at school.
This article proposes three ways to make special education
trauma-responsive: requiring assessment of trauma’s impact in all evaluations
conducted under IDEA, adding a stand-alone trauma-specific disability category
to IDEA’s disability categories, and putting trauma-responsive services and
accommodations, including trauma-responsive therapy, onto individualized
educational programs (IEPs). This is the first article to comprehensively
explore and ass