Report scrutinizes arrests of pupils with disabilities

Waterbury school officials relied heavily on city police to respond to the behavioral troubles of pre-kindergarten and elementary school students with disabilities during the 2018-2019 school year, a practice the state child advocate called “problematic” in a report released Tuesday.

Police were called to schools for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade nearly 200 times from September 2018 through March 2019, resulting in the arrests of three dozen students — including nine children under 12 years old — on misdemeanor charges, according to the report by Child Advocate Sarah Eagan.

“Unfortunately, use of law enforcement as a behavioral health first response system is problematic and does not increase the likelihood of a child and their caregiver becoming well connected to community supports,” the report said. “Ample research shows that early involvement with the justice system ... is strongly correlated to student arrest, student discipline, student disengagement and dropping out."

The report continued: “Today a national conversation is taking place regarding the role of police in schools and how reliance on law enforcement in our schools to provide security and behavior management has overtaken investment in children’s mental health, mentorship, support for teachers and other educators, and investment in human services, a lack of investment that most harshly impacts children and communities of color, often children with disabilities.”

Connecticut court data on arrests of children under 12 in 2018 showed Waterbury led all cities and towns with 61 delinquency referrals to juvenile courts, compared with 20 referrals in Bridgeport and nine in Hartford.

During the same year, more than two-thirds of young children referred to juvenile courts statewide were children of color, according to Connecticut...