New data from the US Department of Education shows a jump in the number of public schools in New York with police officers.
About half of public schools in New York have police officers working at least part-time. New York is one of just seven states where over 50% of schools have a police presence.
Between the 2017-2018 and 2020-2021 school years, the number of schools with police officers increased from 14 to 53 percent. That’s much higher than the national average. Across the US, only about 1/3 of public schools have police officers, though most states have seen an increase.
In New York State, part of that increase is because New York City schools had been underreporting their police presence, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.