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Did the Wisconsin Assembly vote to require law enforcement officers in Milwaukee public schools?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

A bill approved May 17, 2023 by the Wisconsin Assembly in a vote of 56 to 36 includes a provision that would require Milwaukee Public Schools to hire 25 school resource officers to be present at schools. An amendment requires officers to complete a 40-hour training course. The bill will now be considered by the Senate.

Milwaukee Public Schools previously paid officers to patrol outside its buildings and events, but ended its contract with the Milwaukee Police Department in 2020 in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd.

School resource officers are sworn law enforcement officers and are typically armed, according to the National Association of School Resource Officers. The association estimates that about 20% of all K-12 schools in the U.S. have school resource officers.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin State Legislature Assembly Bill 245 | History
Wisconsin State Legislature Assembly Bill 245 | Text
Wisconsin State Legislature Assembly Amendment 2, to Assembly Bill 245
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel MPS board votes to end contracts for police outside buildings and at events
National Association of School Resource Officers FAQs
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.