HB 06535 Summary

• Establishes a task force to study the employment and role of school resource officers in public schools and develop recommendations on whether they should continue, with a report due by July 1, 2022.

• Task force shall examine memoranda of understanding between school boards and law enforcement, student discipline incidents involving officers, training requirements, costs, and correlation between school climate and SRO relationships.

• Task force membership consists of 20+ members appointed by legislative leaders, including school resource officers, parents, education representatives, and state officials including the Commissioner of Education and Child Advocate.

• Requires the School Safety Infrastructure Council to study whether classroom doors that can be locked from inside and outside should be included in school safety criteria, with findings due by January 1, 2022.

• Mandates the Department of Education and Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection jointly develop a state-wide crisis response plan by January 1, 2023, and requires school boards to submit annual security plans with random audits by the state starting July 1, 2021.