When students return to Milwaukee Public Schools after winter break, they could be greeted by 25 police officers stationed throughout the district.
As part of a June state law that boosted local government funding, lawmakers tucked in a requirement for MPS to work with the Milwaukee Police Department to hire at least 25 school resource officers by Jan. 1.
The move is a mandated reversal for the district, which had cut its last contract with police in 2020. Research has increasingly questioned whether police are effective in schools, finding that they do not deter intruders and can wear down students’ mental health.
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