Giving Compass' Take:

· According to Chalkbeat, new studies show that schools increasing security and police presence on campus as a safety precaution are leading to negative student outcomes.

· How can schools increase safety without negatively changing the environment? 

· Read more about school safety after the Parkland shooting. 

It’s been a year since 17 people were killed at a Parkland, Florida high school, sparking a national conversation about gun control and a race to ratchet up school security.

Florida lawmakers, for instance, passed legislation requiring every public school in the state to have an armed guard. A Trump administration commission recommended armed school personnel, among other safety measures. Already, 71 percent of U.S. public high schools have at least one law enforcement officer who carries a gun.

While some argue that these efforts are increasingly necessary, others point out that school shootings are rare and fear that more security will backfire — making schools less conducive to learning and making it more likely for students of color to be funneled into the criminal justice system.

Now, two new academic studies provide strong evidence that some of those concerns are valid. Both released this week and looking at large groups of students, they are among the first research to directly link more police to worse academic outcomes for students.

Read the full article about school safety by Matt Barnum at Chalkbeat.