Omaha schools ban electric shock gloves after they were used on two students: Board member says she’s ‘sickened’ they were ‘used as a test bed’

Omaha‘s largest public school district is moving to ban police-issued electric shock gloves from its campuses after officials confirmed the devices were used on two students during the 2025-26 school year, prompting backlash from parents, students and school board members who said they were unaware the technology was being used in schools.

Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Ray formally asked the Omaha and Bellevue police departments to stop allowing school resource officers to carry the devices, known as G.L.O.V.E.s or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters, on district property. Omaha police agreed, with Police Chief Todd Schmaderer confirming that school resource officers would no longer carry the equipment inside district buildings.

Board member calls schools a ‘test bed’

The decision followed a contentious school board meeting where about 30 parents, students and community members spoke against the use of the shock gloves. Several board members said they were alarmed that the devices had been used on students without their knowledge.

Board member Gini Magnuson said she was “sickened to learn our schools have been used as a test bed for a new law enforcement technology.”

Board Vice President Kimara Snipes said she was “livid” that the devices had been introduced without a formal discussion with district leadership. She questioned how a new use-of-force device could be placed in schools “without a formal conversation with the superintendent or the elected board responsible for these schools.”

Board member Bri Full said that if the board had voted that night on continued use of the gloves alongside Tasers, OC spray and batons, she “would vote absolutely not,” arguing that the district lacked sufficient guidelines governing their use on students.

Two documented incidents in Omaha schools

Police Chief Schmaderer and Mayor John Ewing provided details about the two incidents involving students.

In one case, an officer used the glove on a high school student from another school who allegedly fought with a security guard and attempted to flee. The device was applied to the student’s wrist for about two seconds during the detention.

The second incident occurred at Omaha Public Schools’ Integrated Learning Program, which serves students with social, emotional, behavioral and learning challenges. Police said the student made threats, threw a chair that struck a security guard and punched the guard before an officer deployed the glove twice.

Omaha Police Department Lt. Neal Bonacci said school resource officers are “properly trained on and carry the G.L.O.V.E. as a discreet, de-escalation option specifically for the school environment.”

Bonacci added that if Omaha Public Schools asked officers not to use the devices, police “will adhere to that request,” while noting that officers would continue carrying Tasers, OC spray, batons and firearms.

Parents raise concerns for students with disabilities

Alexie Herman, the parent of an autistic child with epilepsy, told the board she feared vulnerable students could be harmed if officers were allowed to use the devices.

Herman said that if the district could not properly follow Individualized Education Programs, Section 504 plans and its policies on holds and emergency responses, she did not know “what’s gonna happen when there’s shock gloves involved,” adding that she was “terrified” children like hers could be seriously hurt by the equipment.

Nora Wessel, a senior at Omaha Central High School, said she could not imagine seeing a fellow student shocked in a place meant to be safe. She said the devices created “a barrier for our students to turn to resource officers when needed.”

Ken Trump, president of the consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services, said schools should consider how officers would respond to students with disabilities or medical needs, how parents would be notified and when the devices could be used before allowing the technology.

Trump said “less than lethal doesn’t mean low risk.”

Superintendent and mayor respond

Ray told families that district leaders had “heard community input and concern” and that continued use of the gloves “would be counterproductive to our work together,” adding that students “must be safe and feel safe.”

Ray also acknowledged the district’s longstanding relationships with law enforcement and the role school resource officers play in school safety.

Mayor Ewing, who helped oversee the creation of Omaha’s school resource officer program earlier in his career, said the district had been given the option to reject the technology and that the city had honored its decision.

Ewing described the G.L.O.V.E. as “the least impactful” tool officers carry and said the city would continue listening to the district’s concerns.

Other metro districts keep the devices

Omaha’s decision does not extend across the entire metropolitan area.

The suburban Bellevue Police Department, which provides school resource officers at two Omaha schools in addition to Bellevue schools, said its officers would continue carrying the devices. Bellevue schools spokeswoman Amanda Oliver said the district maintains regular communication with police and was not making any changes.

Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary defended the decision, saying he was “not comfortable having our officers give up a tool that has repeatedly proven to be safe, effective and less harmful than the alternatives.”

Clary said Bellevue officers have carried the devices for more than three years and that they have sometimes prompted students to cooperate without the gloves being activated.

Three other large metro-area districts served by Omaha school resource officers — Millard, Elkhorn and Westside — had not taken action to restrict the devices as of the time of reporting.