158.4414 Cooperation of school personnel with local and state law enforcement
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/ky/158-4414A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
agencies in efforts to assign certified school resource officers to each campus as
funds and personnel become available -- Employment of guardians --
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 -- School resource officer to be armed with firearm --
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.
(1)Local boards of education, school district superintendents, administrators of state-
controlled facilities, and local and state law enforcement agencies shall cooperate to
assign one
(1)or more certified school resource officers to serve each campus
where one
(1)or more school buildings are used to deliver instruction to students on
a continuous basis.
(2)Local boards of education shall ensure, for each campus in the district, that at least
one
(1)certified school resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time
in the school building or buildings on the campus. If sufficient funds and qualified
personnel are not available for this purpose for every campus, the local board of
education shall fulfill the requirements of this subsection on a per campus basis, as
approved in writing by the state school security marshal, until a certified school
resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time on each campus in the
district.
(3)Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, a local board of education that is unable
to meet the requirement of subsection
(2)of this section may, after consultation
with and approval by the state school security marshal, employ one
(1)or more
guardians pursuant to KRS 158.4431 to provide safety and security measures for
schools within the district. The use of guardians under this subsection shall not be
used to replace the certified school resource officer required under subsection
(2)of
this section, but only to provide safety and security resources until a certified school
resource officer is available.
(4)Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, a local board of education that has met
the requirement of subsection
(2)of this section may employ one
(1)or more
guardians pursuant to KRS 158.4431 to provide additional school safety and
security measures within the district.
(5)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.
(6)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.
(7)In accordance with KRS 61.926, 527.020, and 527.070, as applicable, each school
resource officer shall be armed with a firearm, notwithstanding any provision of
local board policy, local school council policy, or memorandum of agreement.
(8)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, update, and maintain three
(3)levels of training for
certification of school resource officers as follows: 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.
(9)Course curriculum for school resource officers 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;
(d)Social media and cyber security;
(e)School resource officers as teachers and mentors;
(f)Youth mental health awareness;
(g)Diversity and bias awareness training;
(h)Trauma-informed action;
(i)Understanding students with special needs; and
(j)De-escalation strategies.
(10)All school resource officers with active school resource officer 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.
(11)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.
(12)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 serve in the capacity of a school resource officer in a school.
(13)When a school resource officer is deficient in required training, 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.
(14)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 may resume service in the
capacity of a school resource officer in a school setting upon successful completion
of the training deficiency.
(15)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.
(16)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted or construed to require a local
government or any of its agencies or offices to fund the school resource officer
positions required of local boards of education under this section. For purposes of
this subsection, "local government" has the same meaning as in KRS 65.8840.
(17)Nothing in this section shall prevent a private or parochial school from entering into
a memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency or the
Department of Kentucky State Police to provide school resource officers employed
by the local law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police.