The following has been shared on behalf of NASP President Laurie Klose:

Several individuals have circulated an open letter regarding NASP's position on the use of police in schools.  In response, I hope to clarify the process undertaken since the fall of 2020 to engage the Policing in Schools task force, NASP Board of Directors (BoD), and the Leadership Assembly (LA) on this topic. The process has been careful and deliberate, designed to bring diverse voices to the table in order to guide NASP's next steps. This process will culminate in a vote by the Leadership Assembly on a resolution regarding police in schools next month. 

In 2020, the NASP President created a Policing in Schools task force.  This group, which met from November 2020-May 2021, was charged with reviewing the literature on police in schools and making recommendations based on the findings.  The Task Force leaders created a final report that summarized key research findings and outlined a number of recommendations for the LA to consider.  As noted in the final report (dated May, 2021), the task force was unable to reach consensus on the issue of federal funding for school police. However, the report outlined three potential funding recommendations, with specific considerations raised by task force members for each recommendation, for consideration.     

To move the process forward, the following steps were taken: 

• The NASP Government and Professional Relations Committee, Social Justice Committee, and School Safety and Crisis Response Committee reviewed the task force report and provided feedback to the Board (June 2021) 
• The task force co-chairs presented the report to the Board (June 2021). 
• The LA engaged in several activities to inform whether and how NASP's position on policing in schools should change, including review of the task force report and related documents, small group dialogues, and straw polls regarding specific positions the association could take (fall, 2021).
• Drawing from all of the information gathered, the Board determined that a writing team should be assembled to draft a formal resolution articulating NASP's position on police in schools. The team was constituted in December/January and began meeting in February, 2022. It included task force members with extensive understanding of the research, NASP leaders, and individuals from the NASP GPR, Social Justice, and School Safety and Crisis Response committees.  This group used the task force report, data from the LA activities, and information from existing NASP policy and practice positions to develop a draft resolution.     

This resolution will be presented to the Leadership Assembly in the coming weeks, with a vote expected by the end of May.  If the resolution is approved, it will represent official NASP policy on school policing and it will be distributed to our members and publicly through our usual channels.     

As an organization, NASP is committed to continuous improvement of our operational policies and procedures.  The recommendations regarding these procedures outlined in the Open Letter will be shared with the appropriate leadership bodies for further discussion.    

Laurie Klose

NASP President, 2021-22