A
Adjudicate
To make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter. Adjudication ends in a formal sentence, such as conviction (guilty) or acquittal (not guilty).
C
Class C Misdemeanor
In Texas, refers to non-traffic, fine-only misdemeanors. Class C Misdemeanors include disorderly conduct—like cursing, making offensive gestures, being too loud, or fighting in school—as well as other minor crimes like trespassing.
Custodial Interrogation
A situation when a person is in a custodial setting and they are being questioned by the police.
Custodial Setting
Generally, a person is in a custodial setting when he or she is with the police and does not feel free to leave. The United States Supreme Court has said that whether or not a person feels free to leave can depend on their age: children may not feel free to walk out if they are being questioned by the police, even if an adult in the same situation may feel free to leave.
D
Deferred Prosecution
A voluntary alternative to either put off a case for a period of time or to dismiss a case up front subject to the accused fulfilling certain agreed upon conditions. With deferred prosecution, if at the end of the period all of the agreed upon conditions are met by the accused, the charges are dismissed and no plea or guilty judgement of conviction is entered.
F
FERPA
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a federal privacy law that protects certain information pertaining to the child such as disciplinary records. The U.S. Department of Education handles complaints filed under FERPA and an individual can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education at: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint.
I
Implicit Bias
Refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit biases are usually developed over the course of a lifetime and allow us to quickly sort objects, beliefs and even people into various categories, but they also cause us to have certain feelings or attitudes about others based on characteristics such as age, appearance, race and ethnicity. For example, a police officer may not consciously believe that Black students are more likely to misbehave but nevertheless punish Black students more harshly than other students based on his implicit biases.
J
Jurisdiction
The authority for a legal body (i.e., a court or an official organization) to make decisions and judgments within a defined area, like a school district, county or a state.
L
LGBTQI
This acronym describes students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or intersex. Detailed data about how and how often LGBTQI students are disciplined and have interactions with police in their schools are not widely collected. However, a few studies and reports from individual students, families, educators, and advocates show that LGBTQI students are overrepresented in the punitive school discipline system.
M
MOUs
A shorthand term for a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a contract between school districts and local police departments. An MOU is a contract between 1) school districts and local police departments and 2) school district police departments and the local police departments with overlapping jurisdiction. MOUs often do not describe how officers should interact with students, when they should or should not be called to address student behavior, or training, reporting, or performance review requirements.
P
Probable Cause
In the context of a student being searched in school by a police officer, probable cause is a belief that a student has violated a rule or committed a crime, based on facts that are known to an officer. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of your skin, or the clothes you are wearing.
R
Reasonable Suspicion
In the context of a student being searched in school, reasonable suspicion is a belief that a student broke a school rule or criminal law. This belief cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of the studen's skin, or the clothes the student is wearing. For example, a student can’t be searched just because the school official thinks that they “look like” a drug dealer.
S
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
T
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
Adjudicate
To make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter. Adjudication ends in a formal sentence, such as conviction (guilty) or acquittal (not guilty).
Class C Misdemeanor
In Texas, refers to non-traffic, fine-only misdemeanors. Class C Misdemeanors include disorderly conduct—like cursing, making offensive gestures, being too loud, or fighting in school—as well as other minor crimes like trespassing.
Custodial Interrogation
A situation when a person is in a custodial setting and they are being questioned by the police.
Custodial Setting
Generally, a person is in a custodial setting when he or she is with the police and does not feel free to leave. The United States Supreme Court has said that whether or not a person feels free to leave can depend on their age: children may not feel free to walk out if they are being questioned by the police, even if an adult in the same situation may feel free to leave.
D
Deferred Prosecution
A voluntary alternative to either put off a case for a period of time or to dismiss a case up front subject to the accused fulfilling certain agreed upon conditions. With deferred prosecution, if at the end of the period all of the agreed upon conditions are met by the accused, the charges are dismissed and no plea or guilty judgement of conviction is entered.
F
FERPA
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a federal privacy law that protects certain information pertaining to the child such as disciplinary records. The U.S. Department of Education handles complaints filed under FERPA and an individual can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education at: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint.
I
Implicit Bias
Refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit biases are usually developed over the course of a lifetime and allow us to quickly sort objects, beliefs and even people into various categories, but they also cause us to have certain feelings or attitudes about others based on characteristics such as age, appearance, race and ethnicity. For example, a police officer may not consciously believe that Black students are more likely to misbehave but nevertheless punish Black students more harshly than other students based on his implicit biases.
J
Jurisdiction
The authority for a legal body (i.e., a court or an official organization) to make decisions and judgments within a defined area, like a school district, county or a state.
L
LGBTQI
This acronym describes students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or intersex. Detailed data about how and how often LGBTQI students are disciplined and have interactions with police in their schools are not widely collected. However, a few studies and reports from individual students, families, educators, and advocates show that LGBTQI students are overrepresented in the punitive school discipline system.
M
MOUs
A shorthand term for a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a contract between school districts and local police departments. An MOU is a contract between 1) school districts and local police departments and 2) school district police departments and the local police departments with overlapping jurisdiction. MOUs often do not describe how officers should interact with students, when they should or should not be called to address student behavior, or training, reporting, or performance review requirements.
P
Probable Cause
In the context of a student being searched in school by a police officer, probable cause is a belief that a student has violated a rule or committed a crime, based on facts that are known to an officer. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of your skin, or the clothes you are wearing.
R
Reasonable Suspicion
In the context of a student being searched in school, reasonable suspicion is a belief that a student broke a school rule or criminal law. This belief cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of the studen's skin, or the clothes the student is wearing. For example, a student can’t be searched just because the school official thinks that they “look like” a drug dealer.
S
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
T
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
Deferred Prosecution
A voluntary alternative to either put off a case for a period of time or to dismiss a case up front subject to the accused fulfilling certain agreed upon conditions. With deferred prosecution, if at the end of the period all of the agreed upon conditions are met by the accused, the charges are dismissed and no plea or guilty judgement of conviction is entered.
FERPA
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a federal privacy law that protects certain information pertaining to the child such as disciplinary records. The U.S. Department of Education handles complaints filed under FERPA and an individual can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education at: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint.
I
Implicit Bias
Refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit biases are usually developed over the course of a lifetime and allow us to quickly sort objects, beliefs and even people into various categories, but they also cause us to have certain feelings or attitudes about others based on characteristics such as age, appearance, race and ethnicity. For example, a police officer may not consciously believe that Black students are more likely to misbehave but nevertheless punish Black students more harshly than other students based on his implicit biases.
J
Jurisdiction
The authority for a legal body (i.e., a court or an official organization) to make decisions and judgments within a defined area, like a school district, county or a state.
L
LGBTQI
This acronym describes students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or intersex. Detailed data about how and how often LGBTQI students are disciplined and have interactions with police in their schools are not widely collected. However, a few studies and reports from individual students, families, educators, and advocates show that LGBTQI students are overrepresented in the punitive school discipline system.
M
MOUs
A shorthand term for a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a contract between school districts and local police departments. An MOU is a contract between 1) school districts and local police departments and 2) school district police departments and the local police departments with overlapping jurisdiction. MOUs often do not describe how officers should interact with students, when they should or should not be called to address student behavior, or training, reporting, or performance review requirements.
P
Probable Cause
In the context of a student being searched in school by a police officer, probable cause is a belief that a student has violated a rule or committed a crime, based on facts that are known to an officer. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of your skin, or the clothes you are wearing.
R
Reasonable Suspicion
In the context of a student being searched in school, reasonable suspicion is a belief that a student broke a school rule or criminal law. This belief cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of the studen's skin, or the clothes the student is wearing. For example, a student can’t be searched just because the school official thinks that they “look like” a drug dealer.
S
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
T
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
Implicit Bias
Refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit biases are usually developed over the course of a lifetime and allow us to quickly sort objects, beliefs and even people into various categories, but they also cause us to have certain feelings or attitudes about others based on characteristics such as age, appearance, race and ethnicity. For example, a police officer may not consciously believe that Black students are more likely to misbehave but nevertheless punish Black students more harshly than other students based on his implicit biases.
Jurisdiction
The authority for a legal body (i.e., a court or an official organization) to make decisions and judgments within a defined area, like a school district, county or a state.
L
LGBTQI
This acronym describes students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or intersex. Detailed data about how and how often LGBTQI students are disciplined and have interactions with police in their schools are not widely collected. However, a few studies and reports from individual students, families, educators, and advocates show that LGBTQI students are overrepresented in the punitive school discipline system.
M
MOUs
A shorthand term for a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a contract between school districts and local police departments. An MOU is a contract between 1) school districts and local police departments and 2) school district police departments and the local police departments with overlapping jurisdiction. MOUs often do not describe how officers should interact with students, when they should or should not be called to address student behavior, or training, reporting, or performance review requirements.
P
Probable Cause
In the context of a student being searched in school by a police officer, probable cause is a belief that a student has violated a rule or committed a crime, based on facts that are known to an officer. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of your skin, or the clothes you are wearing.
R
Reasonable Suspicion
In the context of a student being searched in school, reasonable suspicion is a belief that a student broke a school rule or criminal law. This belief cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of the studen's skin, or the clothes the student is wearing. For example, a student can’t be searched just because the school official thinks that they “look like” a drug dealer.
S
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
T
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
LGBTQI
This acronym describes students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or intersex. Detailed data about how and how often LGBTQI students are disciplined and have interactions with police in their schools are not widely collected. However, a few studies and reports from individual students, families, educators, and advocates show that LGBTQI students are overrepresented in the punitive school discipline system.
MOUs
A shorthand term for a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a contract between school districts and local police departments. An MOU is a contract between 1) school districts and local police departments and 2) school district police departments and the local police departments with overlapping jurisdiction. MOUs often do not describe how officers should interact with students, when they should or should not be called to address student behavior, or training, reporting, or performance review requirements.
P
Probable Cause
In the context of a student being searched in school by a police officer, probable cause is a belief that a student has violated a rule or committed a crime, based on facts that are known to an officer. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of your skin, or the clothes you are wearing.
R
Reasonable Suspicion
In the context of a student being searched in school, reasonable suspicion is a belief that a student broke a school rule or criminal law. This belief cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of the studen's skin, or the clothes the student is wearing. For example, a student can’t be searched just because the school official thinks that they “look like” a drug dealer.
S
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
T
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
Probable Cause
In the context of a student being searched in school by a police officer, probable cause is a belief that a student has violated a rule or committed a crime, based on facts that are known to an officer. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of your skin, or the clothes you are wearing.
Reasonable Suspicion
In the context of a student being searched in school, reasonable suspicion is a belief that a student broke a school rule or criminal law. This belief cannot be based on a feeling, a rumor, the color of the studen's skin, or the clothes the student is wearing. For example, a student can’t be searched just because the school official thinks that they “look like” a drug dealer.
S
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
T
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
School Resource Officer
A School Resource Officer (also known as an SRO) is a police officer who is assigned to provide law enforcement services to a school district. The officer is technically employed by a local law enforcement agency. Many school districts in Texas hire SROs and some school districts create their own police departments with officers who are employed by the school district.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
A term that is used to describe a process of criminalizing youth through which students are pushed out of schools and into prisons. This process is carried out through the use of disciplinary policies and practices that put students into contact with law enforcement.
Student Code of Conduct
Every school district must provide a Student Code of Conduct to students at the beginning of the school year. The Student Code of Conduct can be found on a school district's website or a copy can be requested in the campus or district office. The Student Code of Conduct provides information about the schools discipline practices, including the types of punishment that can be given for certain types of behaviors, when parents must be notified, and appeals and grievance procedures.
Systemic Change
Systemic change involves changing entire systems, not just the outcome for one person (although that is important, too!). Systemic change means changing laws, policies, practices, and rules that control outcomes and opportunities for entire groups of people.
TEA
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas that oversees primary and secondary education.
Threat Assessment
There are programs, generally called "threat assessments," that schools can use to identify and respond appropriately to school safety threats by determining whether threats are real (or "substantive"). Using a threat assessment model can help to ensure that students receive appropriate guidance, support, and services and can help to determine when words and behaviors pose an actual threat to school safety.
U
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.
Use of Force
The amount of physical force a school police officer uses against a student.