Number of calls for service to Lincoln school resource officers down, disparity remains
After seeing a "significant" decline in the number of times school resource officers were called to address concerns last school year, Lincoln Public Schools and city officials said having officers in middle and high schools appears to have a positive impact on the district despite concerns about disproportionality among students of color.
The Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Board on Thursday reviewed an extensive 209-page report, which offers a robust look into the work of Lincoln Police Department officers assigned to Lincoln Public Schools' middle and high schools.
Each year since 2018, when the joint board consisting of both Lincoln Board of Education and City Council members was formed, data has been compiled to analyze how the presence of school resource officers affects students and staff to track year-to-year patterns.
During the 2023-24 school year, there were just over 1,280 calls for service to school resource officers, about 160 less than the previous year. There was also a large decrease in the number of calls for service that resulted in referrals to the county attorney, dropping from 265 in 2022-23 to 185 last year.
"That's fairly significant," said Jeff Peterson, LPD crime analysis manager.
Most incidents resulting in referrals were for assaults, narcotics offenses, trespassing, disturbances and alcohol offenses, according to the report. Calls were typically made by administrators, teachers and other school staff.
Additionally, of the 185 calls that were referred to the county attorney, only one student was lodged at the Youth Services Center last year, which is only .08% of all calls for service in 2023-24 and down from the two students during the previous school year.
Since LPS added six LPD officers in the district's 12 middle schools in 2018, there has been a recurring fear that more students will find themselves in the juvenile justice system as a result. But the decrease in calls for service, referrals and lodgings shows that likely isn't the case, according to John Skretta, LPS associate superintendent for civic engagement.
"We want to emphasize that concerns have been voiced in the past that the reintroduction of school resource officers at the middle level could create or exacerbate a school-to-prison pipeline, but none of the reports since, including the 23-24 data, have shown an increase," he said.
During last school year, LPD investigated one complaint against school resource officers — down from five the year before — which was classified as exonerated. Officers received 52 hours of training for topics related to mental health, ethics, diversity and crisis intervention, among others.
While calls for service declined last year, the report shows students of color are still disproportionately more likely to be the suspects and victims of incidents resulting in a call for service.
Officials measure disproportionality through a disparity index, which looks for over- or under-representation of particular groups. In this case, LPD looked at how many students who identify as white, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native or two or more groups; are English Learners; or are enrolled in the free- and reduced-lunch program, were victims or suspects of calls.
A disparity index of 1 is proportional, but anything higher means there was over-representation.
According to the report, Black and Native students, as well as those who receive free or reduced lunches, were above the disparity index for both victims and suspects for another year.
Black students had a victim index of 1.51, down from the previous year's 1.99, while Native students increased from 1.99 to 2.17. In the suspect category, indexes for both groups decreased last year, with the index for Black students going from 2.93 to 2.52, and the one for Native students dropping slightly from 2.2 to 2.14. The rate for students enrolled in free- and reduced-lunch programs also rose slightly this year for both victims and suspects.
Hispanic students also fell just above the disparity index for suspects with an index of 1.04, down from last year's rate of 1.05.
Additionally, in-school suspensions increased slightly last year, while out-of-school suspensions remained stagnant. In total, 2,837 secondary students experienced at least one in-school suspension and 2,348 students were issued an out-of-school suspension. Expulsions at LPS rose from 77 in 2022-23 to 132 last year. There was also evidence in each disciplinary outcome of disproportionality, the report showed.
However, in response to this data, LPS and LPD are actively working together to combat disproportionality through promoting consistent prevention, accountability and restorative practices districtwide, according to Ryan Zabawa, LPS director of student services.
By having consistent practices in every building across the district, Zabawa said they can ensure student discipline is the same for every student at every school.
"With that, hopefully we see a decrease in disproportionality amongst our subgroups and gender breakdown for all schools," he said. "And that's going to take some time, and it's taking a lot of training for administrators to get through that field test, but it's been successful so far."
Despite disproportionality continuing to be an ongoing issue, the results of a survey completed by more than 13,800 students show many students, parents and staff — regardless of race or ethnicity — feel safer at school with a resource officer present, officials said.
"That's a celebration point," Skretta said.
Reach Jenna Ebbers at 402-473-2657 or .
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