This chapter examines the history and growth of school-based policing in the U.S. while identifying and analyzing the dilemmas and contradictions that are found within the coverage of this topic. As educators work to create and sustain spaces of inclusive and socially just spaces for learning, it is hard to ignore the role of law enforcement within both K–12 schools and institutions of higher education. Arrests of minors in public schools, recorded and posted on social media, are raising public consciousness of the school-to-prison pipeline and the racially disproportionate fashion in which students are referred to law enforcement officials. The increased law enforcement presence on both K–12 and college campuses has outpaced enrollment growth in colleges and universities, while eclipsing funding for counselors in some public school districts. A constant public perception of increasing crime and terror on school campuses used to justify these actions may be juxtaposed against.
