Education Department finds fewer resource officers, armed officers in schools

Schools had fewer resources officers and armed officers on their premises in the 2021-22 school year as districts came back from the pandemic, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics.

The survey released Wednesday looked at school safety and security, concluding there were fewer officers on-hand despite concerns about school shootings.

Forty-four percent of schools said they had a school resource officer on their campus in the 2021-22 school year, down from 49 percent in the 2019-20 academic year. The number of officers carrying a firearm was at 45 percent in 2021-22, down from 51 percent in 2019-20.

Sixty-seven percent of public schools reported a violent incident in the 2021-22 year. However, there was a steep drop of 34 percent in reports of the use of illegal drugs at public schools from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

“These critically important data reveal some of the challenges public schools face in keeping the focus on teaching and learning, such as violence, drug use, and bullying,“ said Peggy G. Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which is part of the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.

“At the same time, we gain insights into ways public schools are stepping up with supports beyond academics, such as the finding that nine in ten public schools increased social and emotional supports for students,” she added.

There were also drops in some mental health services, such as only 38 percent of schools treating for mental health disorders, down from 42 percent in 2019-20. However, 90 percent of schools offered individualized tutoring, mentoring or coaching.

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