Texas Put Police in Every School. Now Thousands of 10- to 13-Year-Olds Are Being Referred for Prosecution
An analysis of state juvenile justice data found children 10 to 13 were referred for prosecution after school incidents more than 47,000 times since 2014, mostly for minor offenses.
After Uvalde, Texas made a promise to parents: our children would be safer at school. Lawmakers put real money and real officers behind that promise, and a 2023 state law now requires a police officer at every public school.
A new analysis shows one result few people intended. Children ages 10 to 13 were referred for prosecution after incidents at school more than 47,000 times since 2014, according to an analysis by The New York Times and the San Antonio Express-News, published by the Texas Tribune on Sunday and republished by KSAT.
What the numbers show
About 4,800 students in that age group were referred during the 2024-25 school year, the most recent year with data. That is a third more than a decade earlier, the analysis found.
Most of the students were accused of minor offenses, like making threats, using cannabis vapes or lashing out at classmates or teachers. Few caused serious physical harm.
The reporters examined data from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. A referral typically happens after an officer takes a child into custody. The youngest a child in Texas can be referred is 10, and students 17 and older are treated as adults.
Referrals of children 10 to 13 grew by a greater percentage than referrals of older students, and they rose for young children of every race. Black children were referred at about twice the rate of white and Hispanic children, the analysis found.
The increase was not universal. Some of the state’s largest districts, including Houston and Dallas, have cut referrals in recent years. The statewide rise was driven by roughly 60 districts that account for about a quarter of Texas students, many of which added officers to elementary and middle schools or took a more aggressive approach to policing, according to the report.
The children behind the data
The examples are hard to read. Outside Austin, an 11-year-old bumped into a school counselor. In Victoria, a 10-year-old said he saw someone on campus with a weapon, then admitted he made it up. In El Paso, a 10-year-old kicked an assistant principal after his cellphone was taken.
The El Paso case was dropped two months later, but his mother, Grace Lee-Vazquez, said she paid thousands of dollars in legal bills and that her son, who has ADHD, grew anxious and his grades fell. The ordeal, she said, "broke us." The family moved out of state in June.
There are serious cases, too. Last year an 11-year-old at Harris Middle School in San Antonio was charged with carrying a weapon in a prohibited place after school officials found a gun in his backpack. No parent would want that handled with a phone call home.
But William Shaw, a juvenile judge in San Antonio, said many of the cases that come before him could have been handled by a principal.
"Kids are sometimes not going to get along. They may end up pushing each other, maybe even fighting. That can be considered adolescent behavior. It isn’t necessary to arrest."
Why districts say it is working
Officials in some of the districts driving the increase said they believe the referrals represent progress toward safer campuses, which has been a top priority since the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, the Tribune reported.
That concern is real, and it deserves respect. A school that cannot keep order cannot teach anyone.
The Legislature will take another look
State Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat who co-sponsored the 2023 law requiring an officer at every public school, called the rise in referrals among young children alarming. He said he will push for stricter limits on school policing when the Legislature convenes in January.
"No one should want that as a result of what we did," Moody said.
What it means for Texas families
Scripture tells parents to "train up a child in the way he should go" (Proverbs 22:6). That job belongs first to mothers and fathers, then to teachers and principals who know the child. A badge is for real danger. A 10-year-old who kicks, curses or tells a tall tale needs correction, consequences and a call home. He does not need handcuffs and a juvenile record.
Texans can keep campuses safe and still keep discipline where it belongs. Lawmakers will have that chance in January. Parents can start now by asking their school board what their district’s referral numbers look like.
Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. It is worth knowing what is on every Texas ballot and the voting rules before you go.
