Why and When Do School Resource Officers Engage in School Discipline? The Role of Context in Shaping Disciplinary Involvement

The use of law enforcement in schools raises concerns about impacts on school discipline. Drawing on a large-scale qualitative study of approximately fifty schools across two school districts, this study explores school resource officers' (SROs') involvement in school discipline and how it is shaped by their context. We use interview, focus group, and observation data from nearly 200 participants to document variability in the way SROs conceptualize and are involved in discipline as well as how such involvement is shaped by context. Although 79% of SROs initially report not being involved in discipline, we find that the majority involve themselves in nuanced ways that are shaped by relationships with school staff, official policies, and the characteristics of students served. Our results point to the need for clarity around SROs' involvement in discipline and ways that schools can shape contexts to ensure that SROs are not increasing the use of exclusionary practices.