There have been 134 arrests at a high school in Tennessee, since the beginning of the 2014–2015 school year. At least 120 involved juveniles.
Police data on Maplewood High School in Nashville, shows that 50 juveniles have been handcuffed and escorted away from school grounds since August 5. Likewise, 70 other juveniles have been issued citations. According to Joe Bass, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, citations are considered arrests, and don’t always result in juveniles going to court or detention centers.
In response to the data, Chief Support Services Officer Tony Majors said, “I don’t see those numbers as being a direct indication that the schools are out of control or there is an excessive amount of violence in any of our buildings. That is one data source, an important data source, and one we recognize that we need to improve upon, but all of our schools are improving across the board. We will not sacrifice school safety, but we will also find a way to meet the needs of our students.”
ThinkProgress was informed by the Metro Nashville Police Department that its records do not break down the reasons for issuing citations. Two police officers, or School Resource Officers (SROs) are stationed at Maplewood High School.
Despite a dearth of information on the types of crimes juveniles were arrested for, the state’s Department of Education found that African Americans are disproportionately subjected to disciplinary action at Maplewood. In 2012, there were 466 suspensions and 29 expulsions, and black students accounted for 370 and 21 of the punitive measures, respectively. The data matches up with national trends of disciplining black students at much higher rates than their counterparts. One in three black males in high school or middle school is suspended — often for minor infractions. Research shows that removing students from school and introducing them to the criminal justice system makes them more likely to perform poorly and engage in delinquent behavior in the future.