A recent Center for Public Integrity analysis of U.S. Department of Education data found that in the 2017-2018 school year public schools in Wisconsin referred students to police twice as often as schools nationwide. The data also showed that school policing disproportionately affected students with disabilities and students of color — with Native students in Wisconsin being three times as likely as their fellow white students to be referred to law enforcement.
Ion Meyn, who is an assistant professor at the UW Madison Law School, believes that police do not belong in schools. Meyn says schools are often policed as “white spaces” where misbehavior by children of color is treated more harshly. Meyn studies racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and the regulation of use of force in policing. Ion joins Friday Buzz host, Jonathan Zarov, to talk about this disturbing national trend, and why it might be so severe in Wisconsin.
(Images courtesy of Ion Meyn and Niu Niu on Unsplash)
