Add §§2801-c & 2801-d, Ed L; amd §2.10, CP L; amd §212, R & SS L
Creates the New York state school resource officer program for school districts outside of New York City; requires retired police officers be certified by the department of education to become school resource officers; allows retired police officers employed as school resource officers to carry a firearm on school grounds given an appropriate license; relates to the earnings limitations for retired police officers employed as a school resource officer.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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8910--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 19, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, SEAWRIGHT, SAYEGH, DAVILA, McDONOUGH,
LAWLER, SMULLEN, BRABENEC, DURSO, MONTESANO, HAWLEY, J. M. GIGLIO --
read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, the criminal procedure law, and the
retirement and social security law, in relation to the creation of the
Comprehensive School Resource Officer Training and Implementation
Program (SRO TIP)
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-c
2 to read as follows:
3 § 2801-c. New York state school resource officer program. 1. For
4 purposes of this section, the term "school resource officer" shall mean
5 a school resource officer, school safety officer, school security offi-
6 cer, or any other substantially similar position or office whose purpose
7 is to provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds.
8 2. Any boards of cooperative educational services, public or nonpublic
9 school which is not in a city school district in a city having a popu-
10 lation of one million or more may employ, in either the classified or
11 unclassified service, any school resource officer. Such school resource
12 officer shall be: (a) a retired police officer, a retired state trooper,
13 a retired deputy sheriff, or a retired federal law enforcement officer
14 and who, once a certification process is established, is certified as a
15 school resource officer under section twenty-eight hundred one-d of this
16 article; or (b) an active duty state trooper, police officer in the
17 service of a town, city or village, or deputy sheriff from a county
18 sheriff's department.
19 3. Any boards of cooperative educational services, public or nonpublic
20 school which is not in a city school district in a city having a popu-
21 lation of one million or more may contract with the state of New York,
22 or a county, city, town or village, for the provision of a state troop-
23 er, police officer or deputy sheriff, to serve as a school resource
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05917-08-2
A. 8910--A 2
1 officer. A board of cooperative educational services or school district
2 which is not in a city school district in a city having a population of
3 one million or more shall be authorized to employ or contract for as
4 many school resource officers as such board of cooperative educational
5 services or district deems necessary.
6 4. It shall be the primary role of the school resource officer to
7 provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds through
8 community policing techniques, investigative measures, and tactical
9 preparedness. In addition to such primary role, school resource officers
10 also may serve additional roles, including but not limited to:
11 (a) Proposing and enforcing policies and administrative procedures
12 related to school safety;
13 (b) Utilizing technology in the implementation of a comprehensive
14 safety program;
15 (c) Serving as a liaison with other school officials and other commu-
16 nity agencies, including but not limited to, other law enforcement enti-
17 ties, courts, health care entities, and mental health entities;
18 (d) Proposing and implementing strategies concerning prevention,
19 response and recovery efforts for incidents and/or emergency situations
20 occurring on school grounds and/or involving students, faculty, adminis-
21 tration or visitors to the school;
22 (e) Proposing and assisting in the execution of school emergency
23 drills and proposing and assisting in the creation of school safety
24 plans;
25 (f) Providing educational and mentoring services to students;
26 (g) Assisting in the design, explanation and enforcement of school
27 safety and security policies and procedures; and
28 (h) Performing such other and further roles, responsibilities and
29 activities as the school district may deem appropriate and proper for a
30 law enforcement officer to perform, in order to advance the security,
31 safety and well-being of students, faculty, administration and visitors
32 to the school district's schools, transportation vehicles and school
33 grounds.
34 5. Such school resource officer may carry and possess firearms during
35 the course of their duties at such school district, but nothing in this
36 subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such school resource officer to
37 carry, possess, repair or dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate
38 license therefor has been issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal
39 law.
40 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2801-d to
41 read as follows:
42 § 2801-d. New York state school resource officer certification
43 program. 1. For purposes of this section, the term "school resource
44 officer" shall mean a school resource officer, school safety officer,
45 school security officer, or any other substantially similar position or
46 office whose purpose is to provide improved public safety and/or securi-
47 ty on school grounds.
48 2. The department shall, utilizing boards of cooperative educational
49 services, establish a school resource officer training program to certi-
50 fy retired police officers, retired deputy sheriffs, retired state
51 troopers and retired federal law enforcement officers as school resource
52 officers as well as a school resource officer recertification program to
53 recertify school resource officers who have previously completed and
54 passed the department's school resource officer certification program.
55 Such programs shall be designed by the department to include, but not be
56 limited to, counseling techniques, community policing practices, gender
A. 8910--A 3
1 and racial sensitivity awareness, and field and tactical training for
2 prevention and response to incidents. The department shall utilize
3 current or retired police officers, in order to train school resource
4 officers in any police related or tactical training provided for certif-
5 ication. The certifications granted from such programs shall expire one
6 year after the program was completed and passed.
7 3. The department shall separately offer the school resource officer
8 training program and the school resource officer recertification program
9 at least once per year per county.
10 § 3. Section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a
11 new subdivision 86 to read as follows:
12 86. Retired police officers, retired state troopers, retired deputy
13 sheriffs or retired federal law enforcement officers employed by boards
14 of cooperative educational services or a school district as a school
15 resource officer; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision
16 shall be deemed to authorize such officer to carry, possess, repair or
17 dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate license therefor has been
18 issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal law.
19 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 212 of the retirement and social securi-
20 ty law, as added by section 1 of part Y of chapter 55 of the laws of
21 2013, is amended to read as follows:
22 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this
23 section, the commissioner of education may determine, pursuant to
24 section two hundred eleven of this article, that such earnings limita-
25 tions shall not apply to a retired police officer, retired state trooper
26 or retired deputy sheriff employed by boards of cooperative educational
27 services or a school district as a school resource officer; or to a
28 retired police officer, retired state trooper, or retired deputy sheriff
29 who is employed as a school resource officer by a county, city, town or
30 village police department pursuant to a contract with a school district
31 to provide such services. The commissioner of education may include no
32 more than twenty thousand dollars in addition to the earning limitations
33 set forth in the table in subdivision two of this section to such
34 retired police officer, retired state trooper, or retired deputy sheriff
35 who is employed as a school resource officer.
36 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
Insofar as this bill will affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) and the New York State and Local Police
and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), this bill will allow the commis-
sioner of education to determine that the earnings limitations set forth
in Section 212 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) shall
not apply to retired police officers, retired state troopers and retired
deputy sheriffs who are employed as a school resource officer by either
a board of cooperative educational services or a school district, or by
a county, city, town or village police department pursuant to a contract
with a school district to provide such services. The commissioner may
include no more than twenty thousand dollars in addition to the earnings
limitations set forth in subdivision two of Section 212 of the RSSL for
the affected school resource officers. Currently, only retired police
officers who are employed as a school resource officer by a school
district are not subject to the earnings limitations set forth in
Section 212 of the RSSL.
If this bill is enacted, we expect few retirees to be affected. There
would be negligible additional annual costs. However, if large numbers
of retirees are hired into such positions, there would be additional
A. 8910--A 4
annual costs which would be shared by the state of New York and all of
the participating employers in the System.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
and 2021 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and
the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and
Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2021
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated January 6, 2022, and intended for use only during
the 2022 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-49, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
