LITTLE ROCK — A new report indicates that the number of school-based arrests in Arkansas has increased 13 percent since 2011.
The report by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families looked at school-based arrests across the state in 2013 and 2014. There are more than 3,000 law enforcement incidents in Arkansas schools each year, and the majority of children involved are arrested for nonviolent offenses.
Among other things, the report indicates that school policing disproportionately impacts students of color. Blacks compose 21 percent of the K-12 student population and 57 percent of the students arrested at schools.
The report says alternative disciplinary strategies that focus on positive reinforcement and restorative justice have been shown to reduce police involvement by 68 percent and out-of-school suspensions by nearly 40 percent in some school districts.