Policies Outlining the Role of 

Sworn Law Enforcement Officers 

in Public Schools

DATA POINT

May 2020

NCES 2020-027

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

A Publication of the National Center for Education Statistics at IES

The data in this report are from the 2017–18 administration of the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). SSOCS is 

a nationally representative sample survey of public elementary and secondary schools in the 50 states and the District 

of Columbia. The survey asks principals about the prevalence of crime and violence in their schools as well as the 

practices and programs their schools have in place to promote school safety.

During school year 2017–18, some 

51 percent of U.S. public schools 

had a sworn law enforcement officer 

present at school at least once a 

week.1,2 Some of these schools or 

their districts may have a formalized 

policy or written document, such as 

a Memorandum of Understanding, 

in place to outline the role and 

responsibilities of sworn law 

enforcement officers while at school. 

This report examines how prevalent 

these policies are and what topics the 

policies cover. It also examines 

whether these policies are aligned 

with the activities that officers 

participate in while at school, 

focusing on the topic of officers’ 

responsibilities related to 

student discipline. 

During the 2017–18 school year, 

among schools that had a sworn law 

enforcement officer present at least 

once a week, about two-thirds of 

those schools (64 percent, or 

33 percent of all schools) had a 

policy outlining the officers’ role 

and responsibilities (data not shown 

in figure). 

Which topics are covered by 

policies regarding sworn law 

enforcement officers in schools? 

Principals in schools with both an 

officer present and a policy were 

asked to report, to the best of their 

knowledge, whether their school’s 

policy included language covering 

various topics related to officers’ 

roles and responsibilities.3

 In school 

year 2017–18, the most commonly 

covered topic was the reporting of 

criminal offenses to law enforcement 

agencies, with 65 percent of schools 

reporting that this topic was covered 

(FIGURE 1). 

FIGURE 1. Among U.S. public schools with a sworn law enforcement officer present at school at least once a week and 

whose roles and responsibilities are outlined in a formalized policy or written document, percentage distribution of 

schools by whether the policy or document includes language on certain topics: School year 2017–18

 

1

 Examples of physical and chemical restraints provided to respondents were handcuffs, Tasers, Mace, and pepper spray. 

NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about school crime and policies to provide a safe environment. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2017–18 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2018.

To learn more about the data collection used in this report, visit https://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs. 

For questions about content or to view this report online, go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020027.
In schools with both an officer 

present and a policy in place, many 

principals reported being unsure 

whether the policy covered various 

topics. For example, 42 percent of 

schools with a policy reported 

being unsure whether the policy 

included language about officers’ 

use of firearms.

In schools that report whether 

sworn law enforcement officers 

participate in specific activities, 

how often do these schools 

have policies that cover the 

role of officers in these types 

of activities? 

Principals were asked about 

specific activities sworn law 

enforcement officers participate in 

at their school, such as controlling 

motor vehicle traffic or maintaining 

student discipline. 

Since principals also reported 

if student discipline was a topic 

covered in formalized policies or 

written documents, this report 

investigates this topic further to 

see whether schools have officers 

who participate in this activity and 

whether those schools have policies 

that cover the role of officers related 

to student discipline. 

Among schools with a sworn law 

enforcement officer present at school 

at least once a week in school year 

2017–18, some 51 percent had officers 

who participated in maintaining 

student discipline (data not shown 

in figure). 

However, fewer than half of these 

schools (43 percent) reported they 

knew their school or district had a 

formal policy that included language 

defining the role of officers related to 

student discipline (FIGURE 2). 

Policies Outlining the Role of Sworn Law Enforcement Officers in Public Schools

FIGURE 2. Among U.S. public schools with a sworn law enforcement 

ofcer present at school at least once a week, percentage distribution of 

schools by whether the ofcer actually participates in maintaining student 

discipline and whether the school (or school district) has a formalized 

policy or written document that includes language defning the ofcer’s 

role in maintaining student discipline: School year 2017–18 

Percent 

50 

45 43 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

O ̆cers participate in maintaining student discipline 

Yes No 

28 

7 

22 

27 

9 

19 

Does not have any formal policies or written documents 

Has a formal policy or written document that covers student discipline 

Has a formal policy or written document, but it does not cover student discipline 

Has a formal policy or written document, but respondent does not know whether 

it covers student discipline 

NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about 

school crime and policies to provide a safe environment. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 

2017–18 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2018. 

Among schools with an officer 

present who participated in 

maintaining student discipline, 

about 28 percent knew there was 

not a formalized policy or written 

document outlining officers’ roles

at school. 

Among schools with an officer 

present who did not participate in 

maintaining student discipline, 

27 percent knew there was a 

formalized policy or written 

document that included language 

regarding student discipline, while 

19 percent were unsure if discipline 

was covered in their school’s policy.

Endnotes 

1

 “Sworn law enforcement officers” include 

School Resource Officers and other sworn 

law enforcement officers who are not 

School Resource Officers. 

2

 “At school” was defined for respondents 

to include activities happening in school 

buildings, on school grounds, on school 

buses, and at places that hold schoolsponsored events or activities 

3

 The survey elements discussed in the 

text of this report are limited to the topic 

that the highest percentage of principals 

reported was covered in policies and 

the topic with the highest percentage of 

principals reporting they were unsure 

whether it was covered in policies.

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Samuel 

Correa and Melissa Diliberti of the American Institutes for Research. Estimates based on samples are subject to sampling variability, and apparent 

differences may not be statistically significant. All stated differences are statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple 

comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to minimize effects of nonsampling errors, such as item 

nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.