After Parkland, Schools Raised Police Presence. Are Kids Safer?

In the year since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that killed 17 people and wounded five, the reaction by both state and federal legislators has largely followed the pattern of past mass shootings: increased spending on policing and security equipment in schools that research shows does not make students safer—and that disproportionately harms non-white, disabled, and queer students.

"Since Parkland, there's been a lot of discussion from government entities around increasing law enforcement presence in schools, and that's unfortunate. It doesn't help students, and there are better ways to create safe environments," says Marc Schindler, director of the Justice Policy Institute, a non0profit that advocates for criminal justice reform.