INDIANAPOLIS – School fights. Being extremely disruptive in class. Disorderly conduct. These are all things that land Indiana students in trouble. They can face several forms of discipline like suspension or expulsion. But some experts are raising concerns about the number of students getting arrested on school property.
The Indiana Department of Education recorded more than 1,200 arrests on school property during the 2018-2019 academic year. Several districts each reported dozens of arrests.
Under Indiana code, school corporations are required to report the number of arrests of students on school property, offences for which students were arrested and statistics concerning the age, race and gender of students arrested on school corporation property.
“Sometimes arrest is the only option to get kids help because the resources don’t exist before that or the path to get them resources is not clear enough to the police officer,” said Chase Lyday, president of the Indiana School Resource Officer Association.