When Nick goes undercover to high school the first day, he is wearing a very similar outfit as the boy he arrested at the beginning of the film.
The poem read by Nick in class is a classic poem by the famous poet E.E. Cummings entitled "She Being Brand New."
At the beginning of the film, Nick states that he's "24 years old." Arliss Howard was in fact 33 at the time of filming.
Director Martha Coolidge stated to the Herald in April 1988 "I always thought of this as Steve McQueen Goes to High School." talking about this film.