Kentucky Schools May Soon Hire Former Police Officers and Military Personnel as Guards
Kentucky senators have introduced a bill that would make it possible for schools to hire former police officers and military personnel as “security guards.”
Senate Bill 2, introduced by Republican Senator Max Wise of Campbellsville, would provide an additional safeguard for schools that are unable to procure a school resource officer.
In all schools where the resources are available, the 2019 School Safety Act mandates the presence of a school resource officer (SRO), following the tragic 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School.
As far as Wise is aware, 600 Kentucky school sites do not have an SRO. That is because schools are underfunded and there is a severe shortage of law enforcement personnel.
A background check, marksmanship standards, and completion of the first forty hours of SRO certification training would be among the many conditions that guardians would be required to fulfill under Senate Bill 2, a top priority for the Senate. A discharge with honors would be required for veterans.
The legislation is a result of meetings between legislators and veterans, including those who served in the Kentucky National Guard, to consider how to streamline the training process so that veterans can become SROs. November brought word of a “guardian” program in Florida schools to the attention of a congressional Task Force on School and Campus Safety.
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Senate Bill 2 would mandate two suicide prevention classes per year in schools and establish the guardian program. Additionally, trauma-informed teams in schools would be subject to additional reporting requirements. The measure proposes that all school districts implement a system whereby individuals can anonymously report any safety concerns they may have to the district.
Lastly, the bill would mandate that the Kentucky Center for School Safety make and maintain detailed maps of all school campuses “to ensure efficient response to any emergency on a school campus.”