Student Surveillance, Racial Inequalities, and Implicit Racial Bias

In the wake of high-profile incidents of school violence, school officials have increased their reliance on a host of surveillance measures. Paradoxically, such practices can foster hostile environments that may lead to even more disorder and dysfunction. These practices may also contribute to the so-called ¿school-to-prison pipeline¿ by pushing more students out of school and into the juvenile justice system. This Article presents data on school surveillance practices, including an original empirical analysis of restricted data released by the U.S. Department of Education after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

This Article then turns to a discussion of the role that implicit racial bias may have in school officials¿ decisions to rely on intense surveillance. Finally, it proposes legislation and strategies that federal lawmakers, state lawmakers, and school officials should adopt to counteract the effect of implicit racial bias on school officials¿ decisions to implement strict security measures.