Connections Between the Racial/Ethnic Make-Up of the Student Body and School Safety Personnel Use

Few studies empirically compare the approaches law enforcement officers (LEOs) and school mental health professionals (SMHPs) use to keep schools safe. Such comparisons are important for improving safety and student wellbeing. A focus on the experiences of racial/ethnic minority students is especially important given evidence that school safety approaches have harmed this group. In this study, we compare how LEOs and SMHPs report prioritizing their duties and how this prioritization varies in schools with a predominantly Latino/a/x or Native American population or diverse population versus a predominantly White population. To these ends, we pair school-level data with survey data from LEOs and SMHPs. Both LEOs and SMHPs prioritize and focus on reducing the risk of violence and building strong relationships. We also find that school demographic context plays a role in how some, but not all, school safety activities are prioritized. Implications for scholarship and policy are discussed.