(1) 158.4414 Cooperation of school personnel with local and state law enforcement agencies in efforts to assign certified school resource officers to each school as funds and personnel become available -- Memorandum of understanding between local boards of education and law enforcement agencies or the Kentucky State Police -- Policies and procedures stating the purpose of the school resource officer program and defining roles and expectations -- Promulgation of administrative regulations establishing levels of training for certification of school resource officers -- Course curriculum, specifications for training requirements, and consequences for deficiencies in required training -- Officers to regain certification status upon completion of training deficiency -- Local school district superintendents to report annually to the Center for School Safety upon the number and placement of school resource officers in the district, source of funding, and methods of employment for each position

Local boards of education, school district superintendents, and local and state law enforcement agencies shall cooperate to assign one (1) or more certified school resource officers to each school within a school district as funds and qualified personnel become available

Local boards of education utilizing a school resource officer employed by a law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police that specifically states the purpose of the school resource officer program and clearly defines the roles and expectations of each party involved in the program. The memorandum shall provide that the school resource officer shall not be responsible for school discipline matters that are the responsibility of school administrators or school employees

Local boards of education utilizing a school resource officer employed directly by the local board of education shall adopt policies and procedures that specifically state the purpose of the school resource officer program and clearly define the roles and expectations of school resource officers and other school employees

(2) (3) (4) On or before January 1, 2020, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, in collaboration with the Center for School Safety, shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to establish three (3) levels of training for certification of school resource officers first employed as a school resource officer on or after March 11, 2019: School Resource Officer Training I (SRO I), School Resource Officer Training II (SRO II), and School Resource Officer Training III (SRO III). Each level shall consist of forty (40) hours of training, with SRO I to be completed within one (1) year of the date of the officer's employment and SRO II and SRO III within the subsequent two (2) years

(5) Course curriculum for school resource officers employed on or after March 11, 2019, shall include but not be limited to: (a) Foundations of school-based law enforcement; (b) Threat assessment and response; (c) Youth drug use and abuse; Youth mental health awareness; (d) Social media and cyber security; (e) School resource officers as teachers and mentors; (f) (g) Diversity and bias awareness training; (h) Trauma-informed action; (i) (j) Understanding students with special needs; and De-escalation strategies

(6) Effective January 1, 2020, all school resource officers with active certification status shall successfully complete forty (40) hours of annual in-service training that has been certified or recognized by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council for school resource officers

In the event of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of an officer that prevent the officer from completing the in-service training within one (1) year, the commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training or a designee may grant the officer an extension of time, not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days, in which to complete the training

(7) (8) Any school resource officer who fails to successfully complete training requirements within the specified time periods, including any approved time extensions, shall lose his or her school resource officer certification and shall no longer work in a school

(9) When a school resource officer is deficient the commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training or his or her designee shall notify the council, which shall notify the officer and the officer's employing agency

in required training, (10) A school resource officer who has lost school resource officer certification due solely to the officer's failure to meet the training requirements of this section may regain certification status as a school resource officer and return to a school setting upon successful completion of the training deficiency

(11) No later than November 1 of each year, the local school district superintendent shall report to the Center for School Safety the number and placement of school resource officers in the district. The report shall include the source of funding and method of employment for each position

Effective:March 11, 2019 History: Created 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 5, sec. 6, effective March 11, 2019