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AN ACT relating to school safety and declaring an emergency. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 158.4414 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Local boards of education, school district superintendents, administrators of state-4
controlled facilities, and local and state law enforcement agencies shall cooperate to 5
assign, by August 1, 2022, one (1) or more certified school resource officers to 6
serve each campus where one (1) or more school buildings are used to deliver 7
instruction to students on a continuous basis. 8
(2) Local boards of education shall ensure, for each campus in the district, that at least 9
one (1) certified school resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time 10
in the school building or buildings on the campus. If sufficient funds and qualified 11
personnel are not available for this purpose for every campus, the local board of 12
education shall fulfill the requirements of this subsection on a per campus basis, as 13
approved in writing by the state school security marshal, until a certified school 14
resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time on each campus in the 15
district. 16
(3) Local boards of education utilizing a school resource officer employed by a law 17
enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police shall enter into a 18
memorandum of understanding with the law enforcement agency or the Department 19
of Kentucky State Police that specifically states the purpose of the school resource 20
officer program and clearly defines the roles and expectations of each party 21
involved in the program. The memorandum shall provide that the school resource 22
officer shall not be responsible for school discipline matters that are the 23
responsibility of school administrators or school employees. 24
(4) Local boards of education utilizing a school resource officer employed directly by 25
the local board of education shall adopt policies and procedures that specifically 26
state the purpose of the school resource officer program and clearly define the roles 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2266
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and expectations of school resource officers and other school employees. 1
(5) In accordance with KRS 61.926, 527.020, and 527.070, as applicable, each school 2
resource officer shall be armed with a firearm, notwithstanding any provision of 3
local board policy, local school council policy, or memorandum of agreement. 4
(6) On or before January 1, 2020, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, in 5
collaboration with the Center for School Safety, shall promulgate administrative 6
regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to establish three (3) levels of 7
training for certification of school resource officers first employed as a school 8
resource officer on or after March 11, 2019: School Resource Officer Training I 9
(SRO I), School Resource Officer Training II (SRO II), and School Resource 10
Officer Training III (SRO III). Each level shall consist of forty (40) hours of 11
training, with SRO I to be completed within one (1) year of the date of the officer's 12
employment and SRO II and SRO III within the subsequent two (2) years. 13
(7) Course curriculum for school resource officers employed on or after March 11, 14
2019, shall include but not be limited to: 15
(a) Foundations of school-based law enforcement; 16
(b) Threat assessment and response; 17
(c) Youth drug use and abuse; 18
(d) Social media and cyber security; 19
(e) School resource officers as teachers and mentors; 20
(f) Youth mental health awareness; 21
(g) Diversity and bias awareness training; 22
(h) Trauma-informed action; 23
(i) Understanding students with special needs; and 24
(j) De-escalation strategies. 25
(8) Effective January 1, 2020, all school resource officers with active school resource 26
officer certification status shall successfully complete forty (40) hours of annual in-27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2266
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service training that has been certified or recognized by the Kentucky Law 1
Enforcement Council for school resource officers. 2
(9) In the event of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of an officer that 3
prevent the officer from completing the in-service training within one (1) year, the 4
commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training or a designee may 5
grant the officer an extension of time, not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days, 6
in which to complete the training. 7
(10) Any school resource officer who fails to successfully complete training 8
requirements within the specified time periods, including any approved time 9
extensions, shall lose his or her school resource officer certification and shall no 10
longer serve in the capacity of a school resource officer in a school. 11
(11) When a school resource officer is deficient in required training, the commissioner 12
of the Department of Criminal Justice Training or his or her designee shall notify 13
the council, which shall notify the officer and the officer's employing agency. 14
(12) A school resource officer who has lost school resource officer certification due 15
solely to the officer's failure to meet the training requirements of this section may 16
regain certification status as a school resource officer and may resume service in the 17
capacity of a school resource officer in a school setting upon successful completion 18
of the training deficiency. 19
(13) No later than November 1 of each year, the local school district superintendent shall 20
report to the Center for School Safety the number and placement of school resource 21
officers in the district. The report shall include the source of funding and method of 22
employment for each position. 23
(14) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted or construed to require a local 24
government or any of its agencies or offices to fund the school resource officer 25
positions required of local boards of education under this section. For purposes of 26
this subsection, "local government" has the same meaning as in KRS 65.8840. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2266
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(15) Nothing in this section shall prevent a private or parochial school from entering into 1
a memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency or the 2
Department of Kentucky State Police to provide school resource officers employed 3
by the local law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police. 4
(16) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, local boards shall require each public 5
elementary and secondary school to display about the school in prominent 6
locations, including but not limited to sports arenas, gymnasiums, stadiums, and 7
cafeterias, signs at least six (6) inches high and fourteen (14) inches wide stating: 8
"This school is protected by an armed and trained School Resource Officer.". 9
For each sign containing the required language, the word "armed" shall be 10
emphasized in a visible manner, such as by using capitalized letters or boldened 11
font. 12
Section 2. Whereas it is of importance to take steps to protect the safety of 13
students and staff in common schools and align implementation of such measures with 14
the school year calendar, an emergency is declared to exist and this Act takes effect on 15
July 1, 2024. 16