COPS AND NO COUNSELORS: How the Lack of School Mental Health Staff is Harming Students

There are more law enforcement and security guards in Mississippi schools than nurses, psychologists, and social workers combined. A recently released report, Cops and No Counselors, examines the first state-level student-to-staff ratio comparison. 

Download the full report below.

The U.S. Department of Education recently required every public school to report the number of social workers, nurses, and psychologists employed for the first time in history. This report reviews state-level student-to-school-based mental health personnel ratios as well as data concerning law enforcement in schools.

The report also reviews school arrests and referrals to law enforcement data, with particular attention to disparities by race and disability status. A key finding of the report is that schools are under-resourced and students are overcriminalized.