This qualitative study explores the retrospective sensemaking of Black1 girls and Latinas in their interactions with school security guards and School Resource Officers (SROs). Seven Black women and two Latinas participated in the study. Additionally, district data around SROs and discipline were analyzed for the five school districts in which the…

In recent years, the media has highlighted the disrespectful and sometimes violent manner in which SROs respond to Black girls' behaviors. Few studies question how SROs in schools might influence traditional school discipline outcomes such as suspensions for a double minoritized group (race and gender) such as Black girls. Leaning on the Black…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Is California Doing Enough to Close the School Discipline Gap?" In California, a combination of statewide and local efforts has been implemented to reduce the use of punitive suspensions in public K-12 schools. Current state data trends reflect these efforts, showing that far fewer students…

This research provides a unique seven-year trend analysis indicating that, while California has seen a decline in the use of suspensions in schools prior to the pandemic, the pace of the decline has slowed and large racial disparities in suspension rates remain. The research supports renewed advocacy efforts to eliminate schools' use of security…

Education administrators have many tools available to them as they strive to establish a safe climate for learning, but no one strategy or piece of equipment is a magic solution that keeps potential trouble beyond the campus boundaries. Creating and maintaining a safe and secure school environment requires a balance of many strategies: (1)…