VACo opposes SB 1130 (Locke) that seeks to mandate that all School Resource Officers (SROs) receive job-entry and in-service training administered by the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety (VCSCS) in addition to any existing law-enforcement training and broadens the type of training required for both SROs and School Security Officers (SSOs).
Action Required – Contact your Senators and express opposition to SB 1130. If communicating via letter or email, please send a copy to Jeremy Bennett at jbennett@vaco.org.
SRO training is currently only offered by VCSCS in a weeklong on-site course for 36 hours. The additional training topics needed to be covered by this legislation would necessitate a longer training time that would exceed the week parameters. Localities currently pay for the costs of travel and lodging for this training, and this bill would increase those costs.
Governor Ralph Northam has proposed additional funding for VCSCS to develop online options for training, but development and implementation will take time and is contingent upon approval from the General Assembly.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee referred SB 1130 to the Senate Education and Health Committee by a 13-0 vote.
VACo Contact: Jeremy Bennett