Relates to creating a school resource officer program to permit the employment of retired law enforcement officers and provide grants to school districts and non-public schools for such purpose.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2023
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HAWLEY, FRIEND, J. A. GIGLIO, NORRIS, RA, TAGUE,
THIELE, McDONOUGH, MORINELLO, REILLY, DeSTEFANO, BRABENEC, BUTTENS-
CHON, ANGELINO, GALLAHAN, DURSO, MANKTELOW, BLANKENBUSH, SAYEGH --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BARCLAY -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law and the retirement and social security
law, in relation to a school resource officer program
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, that is
7 designed to provide improved public safety and/or security on school
8 grounds. Such school resource officer may be a retired police officer, a
9 retired state trooper, a retired deputy sheriff, a state trooper, a
10 police officer in the active duty service of a town, city or village, or
11 a deputy sheriff from a county sheriff's department.
12 2. Any public or nonpublic school may employ, in either the classified
13 or unclassified service, any school resource officer for the purpose of
14 providing improved public safety and/or security on school grounds. Any
15 such public or nonpublic school may also contract with the state of New
16 York, or a county, city, town or village, for the provision of a state
17 trooper, police officer or deputy sheriff, to serve as a school resource
18 officer, for the purpose of providing improved public safety and/or
19 security on school grounds. A school district shall be authorized to
20 employ or contract for as many school resource officers as such district
21 deems necessary.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00350-01-3
A. 2023 2
1 3. It shall be the primary role of the school resource officer to
2 provide improved public safety and/or security on school grounds. In
3 addition to this primary role, school resource officers also may serve
4 additional roles, including but not limited to:
5 (a) Proposing and enforcing policies and administrative procedures
6 related to school safety;
7 (b) Utilizing technology with the implementation of a comprehensive
8 safety program;
9 (c) Serving as a liaison with other school officials and other commu-
10 nity agencies, including but not limited to, other law enforcement enti-
11 ties, courts, health care entities, and mental health entities;
12 (d) Proposing and implementing strategies concerning prevention,
13 response and recovery efforts for incidents and/or emergency situations
14 occurring on school grounds and/or involving students, faculty, adminis-
15 tration or visitors to the school;
16 (e) Proposing and assisting in the execution of school emergency
17 drills and proposing and assisting in the creation of school safety
18 plans;
19 (f) Providing educational and mentoring services to students;
20 (g) Assisting in the design, explanation and enforcement of school
21 safety and security policies and procedures; and
22 (h) Performing such other and further roles, responsibilities and
23 activities as the school district may deem appropriate and proper for a
24 law enforcement officer to perform, in order to advance the security,
25 safety and well-being of students, faculty, administration and visitors
26 to the school district's schools, transportation vehicles and school
27 grounds.
28 4. Such school resource officer may carry and possess firearms during
29 the course of their duties at such school district, but nothing in this
30 subdivision shall be deemed to authorize such school resource officer to
31 carry, possess, repair or dispose of a firearm unless the appropriate
32 license therefor has been issued pursuant to section 400.00 of the penal
33 law.
34 § 2. Section 3641 of the education law is amended by adding a new
35 subdivision 18 to read as follows:
36 18. School resource officer grants. a. In the two thousand twenty-
37 three--two thousand twenty-four school year and thereafter, within the
38 amount appropriated for services and expenses related to the expense of
39 school resource officers, the commissioner shall provide grants pursuant
40 to this subdivision to: (1) public school districts other than a city
41 school district in a city with a population of one million or more
42 inhabitants, (2) charter schools, and (3) non-public schools.
43 b. Grants under this subdivision shall be equal to the greater of
44 fifty thousand dollars or the product of (1) twenty thousand dollars,
45 and (2) the greater of (A) the total number of instructional school
46 buildings owned, leased or in use for instructional purposes by such
47 public school district, charter school, or non-public school, or (B) the
48 quotient of the enrollment of such public school district pursuant to
49 paragraph n of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this
50 article divided by two hundred fifty, and (3) the aid ratio pursuant to
51 subdivision seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this article,
52 provided that for a charter school or non-public school, the aid ratio
53 shall be the aid ratio for the public school district where the charter
54 school or the non-public school is located.
55 c. The commissioner shall be authorized to adopt regulations to imple-
56 ment the provisions of this subdivision.
A. 2023 3
1 d. In the event the appropriation for purposes of this subdivision in
2 any year is insufficient to pay all claims received pursuant to this
3 subdivision, the commissioner shall pay such claims on a prorated basis
4 among all districts filing such claims until the appropriation is
5 exhausted.
6 § 3. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 211
7 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 640 of
8 the laws of 2008, is amended and a new subparagraph 3-a is added to read
9 as follows:
10 (2) that he or she will earn more than one thousand dollars in one
11 year, including compensation earned in such position under other
12 provisions of this article that there are not readily available for
13 recruitment persons qualified to perform the duties of such position;
14 [and (4)];]
15 (3-a) that his or her employment title and respective duties will be
16 restricted to school resource officer as such term is defined in section
17 twenty-eight hundred one-c of the education law;
18 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
