2025/07/11 by Melanie F. P. Soderstrom, Kristina K. Childs · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Education Discipline and Inequality #Law, Rights, and Freedoms #Legal Issues in Education
paper · doi:10.1080/15388220.2025.2531974
openalex publication_date 2025/07/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Research is silent surrounding school resource officers’ (SROs) role in involuntary commitment examinations arising from incidents at school. This study leverages changes to one Florida county’s SRO program in August 2016 to explore whether the formalization and expansion of the program impacted the number and characteristics of school-based involuntary commitment examinations. Results from interrupted time series analysis show that the intervention did not result in a statistically significant, abrupt increase, instead, the number of examinations steadily increased over six school years. Additionally, post-intervention increases in the proportion of involuntary commitment examinations involving male and younger students were pronounced. Findings indicate that involuntary commitment examinations of students are an additional collateral consequence of SRO presence that must be considered.