SRO Legal & Ethical Issues 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student with an IEP is arrested by the SRO for disruptive behavior directly related to their disability. What additional consideration applies?
- No additional considerations; criminal law supersedes IDEA
- A manifestation determination review must assess whether the behavior was caused by the disability (Correct answer)
- The student's IEP team must approve the arrest first
- HIPAA prevents sharing any disability information with police
Correct answer: A manifestation determination review must assess whether the behavior was caused by the disability
Under IDEA, a manifestation determination review is required to determine if the behavior was a manifestation of the student's disability before certain disciplinary actions are taken.
Question 2: An SRO overhears a student confide to a friend about plans to harm themselves that evening. The SRO's ethical duty to report this is known as:
- Duty to warn (Correct answer)
- Duty to intervene
- Mandatory reporting
- Breach of confidentiality
Correct answer: Duty to warn
The duty to warn obligates officers to act when they become aware of credible threats of harm to a person, including self-harm.
Question 3: Under Title IX, an SRO's failure to adequately investigate a sexual assault on campus could expose the school district to:
- FERPA penalties only
- Criminal prosecution of the SRO personally
- Loss of federal funding and civil liability (Correct answer)
- Mandatory state accreditation review
Correct answer: Loss of federal funding and civil liability
Title IX requires schools to respond promptly and effectively to sexual harassment and assault; failure to do so can result in loss of federal funding and civil lawsuits.
Question 4: Which Supreme Court ruling established that students do not 'shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate'?
- New Jersey v. T.L.O.
- Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (Correct answer)
- Safford Unified School District v. Redding
- Vernonia School District v. Acton
Correct answer: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) affirmed that students retain First Amendment and other constitutional rights while in school.
Question 5: An SRO is asked by the principal to conduct a strip search of a student suspected of hiding marijuana. The SRO should:
- Proceed because the principal authorized the search
- Refuse; strip searches of students require exigent circumstances and are subject to heightened scrutiny under Safford v. Redding (Correct answer)
- Conduct the search only if a same-gender staff member is present
- Obtain a warrant before proceeding
Correct answer: Refuse; strip searches of students require exigent circumstances and are subject to heightened scrutiny under Safford v. Redding
Safford v. Redding (2009) held that strip searches of students are highly invasive and require more than reasonable suspicion of ordinary contraband.
Question 6: A student's locker is searched by school administrators without SRO involvement. Evidence is found and turned over to the SRO. This evidence is generally:
- Inadmissible because the SRO did not conduct the search
- Admissible because school officials may search lockers under their authority (Correct answer)
- Admissible only if the SRO co-signed the search form
- Inadmissible unless a drug-sniffing dog confirmed the contraband
Correct answer: Admissible because school officials may search lockers under their authority
Evidence found by school officials acting independently (not as agents of police) under their own authority is generally admissible.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'implicit bias' as it relates to SRO ethical conduct?
- Deliberately treating minority students more harshly
- Unconscious attitudes that can affect decision-making and lead to disparate treatment (Correct answer)
- A legal doctrine that excuses biased enforcement decisions
- Writing biased incident reports intentionally
Correct answer: Unconscious attitudes that can affect decision-making and lead to disparate treatment
Implicit bias refers to unconscious stereotypes or attitudes that can influence an officer's decisions without their awareness.
SRO Legal & Ethical Issues 3
A student with an IEP is arrested by the SRO for disruptive behavior directly related to their disability.
What additional consideration applies?