While the many unique differences that exist between school districts and law enforcement agencies prohibits the Board from issuing any standard form of an SRO Memorandum of Understanding, we note that several key issues should be addressed in the course of drafting these agreements. These include:
- A clearly defined set of goals for the program;
- Background requirements or suggested expertise for employing law enforcement in the school setting, including an understanding of child and adolescent development;
- Professional development requirements for the SRO, including training requirements that focus on age-appropriate practices for conflict resolution and developmentally informed de-escalation and crisis intervention methods;
- Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, expectations and directive control of the parties involved, including school resource officers, other law enforcement personnel, school administrators, staff, and teachers;
- A protocol for how suspected criminal activity versus school discipline is to be handled;
- The requirement for coordinated crisis planning and updating of school crisis plans; and
- Any other discretionary items determined by the parties to foster a School Resource Officer program that builds positive relationships between law enforcement, school staff, and the students, promotes a safe and positive learning environment, and decreases the number of youth formally referred to the juvenile justice system.
For a complete overview of the Program requirements and Preliminary Curriculum, click here.