What's happening
This bill establishes a statewide School Resource Officer program, including training and certification requirements, and expands eligible personnel.
Why it matters
Broadens the pool of eligible school safety personnel. by allowing not just retired police officers, but also retired state troopers and retired deputy sheriffs, as well as active law enforcement officers, to serve as School Resource Officers (SROs), addressing staffing shortages and expanding expertise.
Requires specialized training and annual certification/recertification. for SROs, including education in counseling, community policing, sensitivity awareness, and tactical response, aiming to professionalize the role and ensure SROs are equipped for both safety and student interaction.
Clarifies and expands the roles and responsibilities of SROs. to include not only law enforcement and security, but also proposing safety policies, collaborating with community agencies (including mental health), participating in emergency planning, and providing mentoring and educational services to students.
Removes financial disincentives for retired law enforcement. to become SROs by waiving post-retirement earnings limitations, potentially making the positions more attractive to experienced candidates and retaining valuable expertise in school environments.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Train School Safety Officers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 39
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 6298a
- Amend and recommit to education
- Referred to education
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Train School Safety Officers
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Albert A. Stirpe
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6298--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 3, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, the criminal procedure law, and the retirement and social security law, in relation to the creation of the Comprehensive School Resource Officer Training and Implementation Program (SRO TIP)
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-c to read as follows:
§ 2801-c. New York state school resource officer program. 1. For purposes of this section, the term "school resource officer" shall mean a school resource officer, school safety officer, school security officer, or any other substantially similar position or office whose purpose is to provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds.
2. Any boards of cooperative educational services, public or nonpublic school which is not in a city school district in a city having a population of one million or more may employ, in either the classified or unclassified service, any school resource officer. Such school resource officer shall be: (a) a retired police officer, a retired state trooper, or a retired deputy sheriff and who, once a certification process is established, is certified as a school resource officer under section twenty-eight hundred one-d of this article; or (b) an active duty state trooper, police officer in the service of a town, city or village, or deputy sheriff from a county sheriff's department.
3. Any boards of cooperative educational services, public or nonpublic school which is not in a city school district in a city having a population of one million or more may contract with the state of New York,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00319-08-9
S. 6298--A 2
or a county, city, town or village, for the provision of a state trooper, police officer or deputy sheriff, to serve as a school resource officer. A board of cooperative educational services or school district which is not in a city school district in a city having a population of one million or more shall be authorized to employ or contract for as many school resource officers as such board of cooperative educational services or district deems necessary.
4. It shall be the primary role of the school resource officer to provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds through community policing techniques, investigative measures, and tactical preparedness. In addition to such primary role, school resource officers also may serve additional roles, including but not limited to:
(a) Proposing and enforcing policies and administrative procedures related to school safety;
(b) Utilizing technology in the implementation of a comprehensive safety program;
(c) Serving as a liaison with other school officials and other community agencies, including but not limited to, other law enforcement entities, courts, health care entities, and mental health entities;
(d) Proposing and implementing strategies concerning prevention, response and recovery efforts for incidents and/or emergency situations occurring on school grounds and/or involving students, faculty, administration or visitors to the school;
(e) Proposing and assisting in the execution of school emergency drills and proposing and assisting in the creation of school safety plans;
(f) Providing educational and mentoring services to students;
(g) Assisting in the design, explanation and enforcement of school safety and security policies and procedures; and
(h) Performing such other and further roles, responsibilities and activities as the school district may deem appropriate and proper for a law enforcement officer to perform, in order to advance the security, safety and well-being of students, faculty, administration and visitors to the school district's schools, transportation vehicles and school grounds.
5. Such school resource officer may carry and possess firearms during the course of their duties at such school district, but nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such school resource officer to carry, possess, repair or dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate license therefor has been issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law.
§ 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-d to read as follows:
§ 2801-d. New York state school resource officer certification program. 1. For purposes of this section, the term "school resource officer" shall mean a school resource officer, school safety officer, school security officer, or any other substantially similar position or office whose purpose is to provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds.
2. The department shall, utilizing boards of cooperative educational services, establish a school resource officer training program to certify retired police officers, retired deputy sheriffs, and retired state troopers as school resource officers as well as a school resource officer recertification program to recertify school resource officers who have previously completed and passed the department's school resource officer certification program. Such programs shall be designed by the
S. 6298--A 3
department to include, but not be limited to, counseling techniques, community policing practices, gender and racial sensitivity awareness, and field and tactical training for prevention and response to incidents. The department shall utilize current or retired police officers, in order to train school resource officers in any police related or tactical training provided for certification. The certifications granted from such programs shall expire one year after the program was completed and passed.
3. The department shall separately offer the school resource officer training program and the school resource officer recertification program at least once per year per county.
§ 3. Section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new subdivision 86 to read as follows:
86. Retired police officers, retired state troopers, or retired deputy sheriffs employed by boards of cooperative educational services or a school district as a school resource officer; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such officer to carry, possess, repair or dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate license therefor has been issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law.
§ 4. Subdivision 3 of section 212 of the retirement and social security law, as added by section 1 of part Y of chapter 55 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section, the commissioner of education may determine, pursuant to section two hundred eleven of this article, that such earnings limitations shall not apply to a retired police officer, retired state trooper or retired deputy sheriff employed by boards of cooperative educational services or a school district as a school resource officer; or to a retired police officer, retired state trooper, or retired deputy sheriff who is employed as a school resource officer by a county, city, town or village police department pursuant to a contract with a school district to provide such services.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
Insofar as this bill will affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement System (ERS) and the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (PFRS), this bill will allow the commissioner of
education to determine that the earnings limitations set forth in
section two hundred twelve shall not apply to retired police officers,
retired state troopers and retired deputy sheriffs who are employed as a
school resource officer by either a board of cooperative educational
services or a school district, or by a county, city, town or village
police department pursuant to a contract with a school district to
provide such services. Currently, this privilege is only allowed to
retired police officers who are employed as a school resource officer by
a school district.
If this bill is enacted, we expect few retirees to be affected. There
would be negligible additional annual costs. However, if large numbers
of retirees are hired into such positions, there would be additional
annual costs which would be shared by the state of New York and all of
the participating employers in the System.
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2019 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2019
S. 6298--A 4
Report of the Actuary and the 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial
Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New
York: Audit and Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2019
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated December 6, 2019, and intended for use only
during the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-19,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, the criminal procedure law, and the retirement and social security law, in relation to the creation of the Comprehensive School Resource Officer Training and Implementation Program (SRO TIP)
Purpose
This bill would create a comprehensive School Resource Officer program to enable more schools to place trained and certified SROs in their buildings to improve the safety of school environments and protect chil- dren in their educational setting.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of this bill would add a new section 2801-c to the education law to define the term School Resource Officer to include a retired police officer, retired deputy sheriff, or retired state trooper who has met the training certification described within this legislation, or an active duty police officer, deputy sheriff or state trooper, and who, once a certification process is established, is certified as a school resource officer under section twenty-eight hundred one-d of this arti- cle; to authorize any boards of cooperative educational services, and public or nonpublic school districts which are not in a city school district in a city having a population of one million or more, to hire school resource officers, or contract with the state, a county, city, town or village for such services; and to define the principal role of a school resource officer as providing improved public safety and/or secu- rity on school grounds through community policing techniques, investi- gative measures, and tactical preparedness, and further delineate addi- tional roles of a school resource officer.
Read the full memo (794 words)
Section 2 of this bill would add a new section 2801-d to authorize the state department of education, utilizing the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), to establish a training program to certify retired police officers, retired deputy sheriffs, or retired state troopers, as SROs. Such training will be designed to include counseling techniques, community policing practices, and gender and racial sensi- tivity awareness, as well as field and tactical training for prevention and response to incidents. The department shall utilize current or retired police officers, in order to train school resource officers in any police related, or tactical training provided for certification. Once established, the certification program would offer shorter, yearly training for recertification.
Section 3 of this bill would amend section 2.10 of the criminal proce- dure law by expanding the definition of peace officer to include retired police officers certified and employed by boards of cooperative educa- tional services or a school district as school resource officers.
Section 4 of this bill would add a new subdivision to section 212 of the retirement and social security law; eliminating the earnings limitations for any retired police officer, retired state trooper or a retired depu- ty sheriff who is employed as a school resource officer by a county,
town, or village police department pursuant to a contract with a school district to provide such services.
Justification
Recent incidents at schools across the country have raised public concern for the safety of children, teachers and educational facilities, in general. Many school districts have, in response, opted to increase their use of professional security personnel, joining the host of districts that already use School Resource Officers. The challenge is that SRO programs, which are often created at the local level through contracts with law enforcement agencies, can be cost-prohibitive, limit- ing the amount of personnel in the field and reducing the number school districts that can afford to create a program.
One solution for this challenge is to employ retired law enforcement officers who bring a wealth of experience in investigations, community policing techniques and crime prevention, and can work for a school district at far less cost than a contract with an existing agency or with an active-duty officer. There are currently several legal hurdles and limitations that hamper the wider use of retired officers as SROs. To increase and improve the use of retired officers as SROs, this legis- lation addresses the legal definition of an SRO, expands the legal status of retired officers and increases their earnings limitations dependent on qualifying actions. It also adds a critical training and certification component for retired officers who want to become SROS, which is currently missing in the current disconnected implementation of SROs across the state.
Finally, the training component addresses what is often a top concern for parents and communities on the increased use of SROs, by making sure that retired officers hired for this important roll have the training to properly prevent potential threats and improve the safety of all students, not just be on hand to deter or respond to actual incidents.
Fiscal implications
To Be Determined
Legislative history
This is a new bill.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.