Bill > S297

This bill aims to further define the role of School Resource Officers (SROs), who are police officers assigned to schools. It mandates that when selecting SROs, police chiefs should prioritize candidates who have received specialized training in areas like child development, de-escalation techniques with young people, understanding behavioral health issues in children, and alternative strategies for dealing with juvenile offenders, rather than simply promoting based on seniority. The bill requires an annual review of SRO performance by both the school superintendent and the chief of police, and necessitates a written Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between these two officials to clearly outline the SRO's duties. This MOU must specify that SROs should only use traditional policing methods like arrest or citation for serious, immediate threats to safety, and should not intervene in routine disciplinary matters for non-violent infractions such as tardiness or dress code violations. The MOU also needs to include protocols for involving mental health professionals, require SROs to undergo ongoing training focused on student challenges and child development, establish methods for monitoring SRO compliance with the MOU, and detail how school-based arrests and citations of students will be collected and reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for public data analysis.