There is a huge debate in the country going on about whether there should be police officers in schools or not. While the majority of the citizens are in support of this, a few oppose it too. But this Milwaukee School Resource Officers Lawsuit is actually about how a parent sued not just the public schools, but the city as well for violating an actual law that makes it possible for the schools to have police officers for security purposes. And while it does not sound that interesting at first, just keep on reading the details, and you’ll know why this matters big time.
What Started the Issue
Right now, it is not just a matter of Milwaukee (although people there have been debating about it for years right now), but the main question is: Should police officers be in public schools? Well, so many are in support of that and while others just straight up give examples where it can be a bad idea. And it was this very conversation that eventually turned into a lawsuit in 2024 when a local parent, Charlene Abughrin, decided to sue.
Really?
See, Abughrin sued the Milwaukee Public Schools, also known as MPS, and the City of Milwaukee. Her case was clear. There had to be police officers, known as School Resource Officers or SROs, in schools according to a Wisconsin state law. But the thing is, in actuality, the law was not being followed and there were no officers in schools.
No doubt, when this matter ended up in court, yes, the court sided with her argument.
And then, in the beginning of 2025, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski gave an order to both MPS and the city to abide by the law, which was already more than a year old at this point.
Talking about what was the core of this judgement, see, the matter was not solely about increasing the number of police officers in schools. Nah! It mainly questioned a larger issue: Is it acceptable for local officials to disregard a state law merely because they are not in agreement with it?
Why Police Officers Left Schools in the First Place
You know, when the George Floyd protests were going on, in 2020 to be precise, the school board of Milwaukee terminated its contract with the city police.
No doubt, when the nationwide protests were going on, initially, a lot of parents and community members backed the initiative. They said that having police in schools only increased the feeling of being unsafe, especially for students of color.
Yet, there were people who genuinely though that having no police presence could mean more dangerous situations in schools.
And sure enough, when these types of worries started coming up and started piling up, local legislators intervened a couple of years later.
The 2023 Law That Changed Everything
And then, Wisconsin legislators approved Act 12 in 2023. What was this about though? Oh, to explain it in the simplest words, the act gave Milwaukee the authority to increase the sales tax to generate more revenue. However, there was a clear proviso.
In order to get that money, Milwaukee needed to have 25 School Resource Officers in its public schools by January 1, 2024.
The legislation was mandatory. The city had to fulfill the condition if it wanted the funds.
The Lawsuit That Forced Action
After the January 2024 deadline came and went without the addition of any officers, Charlene Abughrin took legal action. Sure enough, later down the line, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) backed her in this effort.
She did not go after a payout. Her one and only objective was to make the city and school district adhere to the law.
And as we now know in the details of this case, according to WILL, MPS and the city had been violating Act 12 by not having school resource officers (SROs), thus making the schools not compliant with the law.
