Bill > S317

This bill aims to promote local control and effective training of school resource officers (SROs). The key provisions include: 1. The chief of police must assign SROs who can foster an optimal learning environment and have received specialized training on working with children and adolescents, including de-escalation techniques and diversion strategies. The performance of SROs will be reviewed annually by the superintendent and chief of police. 2. The superintendent and chief of police must enter into a written memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines the mission, roles, and responsibilities of the SRO program, as well as procedures for information sharing, supervision, and training. 3. The MOU must state that SROs shall not serve as counselors, disciplinarians, or enforcers of school regulations, and they shall not use police powers to address traditional school discipline issues. 4. The bill establishes a school resource officer training program managed by the municipal police training committee, which will offer grants to cover the tuition and fees for training SROs, chiefs of police, police supervisors, and school administrators. 5. The training program will cover topics such as school building security, child and adolescent development, de-escalation techniques, data collection, and diversion strategies. 6. The bill also increases certain fines related to traffic violations to provide funding for the school resource officer training program.

Education

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S317