AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The state’s ambitious school policing initiative has few safeguards to prevent overreach by officers.Listen · 5:58 min Anabelle Jaramillo is among the thousands of students in Texas who have had physical encounters with school police officers in recent years.Credit...Meridith Kohut for The New York TimesMay 28, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ETAnabelle Jaramillo’s first and only encounter with the police officers in her Texas high school happened when she was accused of stealing a $13 classroom doorbell in 2024.Anabelle, a 17-year-old honor student, told an assistant principal that she had accidentally knocked the bell loose, she said in an interview. Still, the administrator called the officers, who arrested the teen for theft. When Anabelle pulled away, the officers wrestled her onto her belly and handcuffed her.The student, who is asthmatic and has panic attacks, gasped for air on the floor for three minutes, video footage shows.Anabelle is among the thousands of students in Texas who have had physical encounters with school police officers in recent years. Many of these interactions have occurred since state lawmakers passed legislation in 2023 requiring an officer on each public school campus.To understand how this initiative has played out, The New York Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship collaborated with The San Antonio Express-News to examine thousands of pages of records describing use of force in schools. We also reviewed more than two dozen videos of police encounters on campuses and interviewed hundreds of students, educators, parents and officers.Here are five takeaways from our reporting:Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT