KRS § 158.4414 — KY Code / Title XIII / Chapter 158 / Section 158.4414
158.4414 Cooperation of school personnel with local and state law enforcement agencies in efforts to assign certified school resource officers to each campus as funds and personnel become available -- Employment of guardians -- Memorandum of understanding between local boards of education and law enforcement agencies or the Kentucky State Police -- Policies and procedures stating the purpose of the school resource officer program and defining roles and expectations -- School resource officer to be armed with firearm -- Promulgation of administrative regulations establishing levels of training for certification of school resource officers -- Course curriculum, specifications for training requirements, and consequences for deficiencies in required training -- Officers to regain certification status upon completion of training deficiency -- Local school district superintendents to report annually to the Center for School Safety upon the number and placement of school resource officers in the district, source of funding, and methods of employment for each position
Status: in_force

158.4414 Cooperation of school personnel with local and state law enforcement

agencies in efforts to assign certified school resource officers to each campus as

funds and personnel become available -- Employment of guardians --

Memorandum of understanding between local boards of education and law

enforcement agencies or the Kentucky State Police -- Policies and procedures

stating the purpose of the school resource officer program and defining roles

and expectations -- School resource officer to be armed with firearm --

Promulgation of administrative regulations establishing levels of training for

certification of school resource officers -- Course curriculum, specifications for

training requirements, and consequences for deficiencies in required training -

- Officers to regain certification status upon completion of training deficiency -

- Local school district superintendents to report annually to the Center for

School Safety upon the number and placement of school resource officers in

the district, source of funding, and methods of employment for each position.

(1) Local boards of education, school district superintendents, administrators of state-

controlled facilities, and local and state law enforcement agencies shall cooperate to

assign one (1) or more certified school resource officers to serve each campus

where one (1) or more school buildings are used to deliver instruction to students on

a continuous basis.

(2) Local boards of education shall ensure, for each campus in the district, that at least

one (1) certified school resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time

in the school building or buildings on the campus. If sufficient funds and qualified

personnel are not available for this purpose for every campus, the local board of

education shall fulfill the requirements of this subsection on a per campus basis, as

approved in writing by the state school security marshal, until a certified school

resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time on each campus in the

district.

(3) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, a local board of education that is unable

to meet the requirement of subsection (2) of this section may, after consultation

with and approval by the state school security marshal, employ one (1) or more

guardians pursuant to KRS 158.4431 to provide safety and security measures for

schools within the district. The use of guardians under this subsection shall not be

used to replace the certified school resource officer required under subsection (2) of

this section, but only to provide safety and security resources until a certified school

resource officer is available.

(4) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, a local board of education that has met

the requirement of subsection (2) of this section may employ one (1) or more

guardians pursuant to KRS 158.4431 to provide additional school safety and

security measures within the district.

(5) Local boards of education utilizing a school resource officer employed by a law

enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police shall enter into a

memorandum of understanding with the law enforcement agency or the Department

of Kentucky State Police that specifically states the purpose of the school resource

officer program and clearly defines the roles and expectations of each party

involved in the program. The memorandum shall provide that the school resource

officer shall not be responsible for school discipline matters that are the

responsibility of school administrators or school employees.

(6) Local boards of education utilizing a school resource officer employed directly by

the local board of education shall adopt policies and procedures that specifically

state the purpose of the school resource officer program and clearly define the roles

and expectations of school resource officers and other school employees.

(7) In accordance with KRS 61.926, 527.020, and 527.070, as applicable, each school

resource officer shall be armed with a firearm, notwithstanding any provision of

local board policy, local school council policy, or memorandum of agreement.

(8) The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, in collaboration with the Center for

School Safety, shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS

Chapter 13A to establish, update, and maintain three (3) levels of training for

certification of school resource officers as follows: School Resource Officer

Training I (SRO I), School Resource Officer Training II (SRO II), and School

Resource Officer Training III (SRO III). Each level shall consist of forty (40) hours

of training, with SRO I to be completed within one (1) year of the date of the

officer's employment and SRO II and SRO III within the subsequent two (2) years.

(9) Course curriculum for school resource officers shall include but not be limited to:

(a) Foundations of school-based law enforcement;

(b) Threat assessment and response;

(c) Youth drug use and abuse;

(d) Social media and cyber security;

(e) School resource officers as teachers and mentors;

(f) Youth mental health awareness;

(g) Diversity and bias awareness training;

(h) Trauma-informed action;

(i) Understanding students with special needs; and

(j) De-escalation strategies.

(10) All school resource officers with active school resource officer certification status

shall successfully complete forty (40) hours of annual in-service training that has

been certified or recognized by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council for school

resource officers.

(11) In the event of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of an officer that

prevent the officer from completing the in-service training within one (1) year, the

commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training or a designee may

grant the officer an extension of time, not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days,

in which to complete the training.

(12) Any school resource officer who fails to successfully complete training

requirements within the specified time periods, including any approved time

extensions, shall lose his or her school resource officer certification and shall no

longer serve in the capacity of a school resource officer in a school.

(13) When a school resource officer is deficient in required training, the commissioner

of the Department of Criminal Justice Training or his or her designee shall notify

the council, which shall notify the officer and the officer's employing agency.

(14) A school resource officer who has lost school resource officer certification due

solely to the officer's failure to meet the training requirements of this section may

regain certification status as a school resource officer and may resume service in the

capacity of a school resource officer in a school setting upon successful completion

of the training deficiency.

(15) No later than November 1 of each year, the local school district superintendent shall

report to the Center for School Safety the number and placement of school resource

officers in the district. The report shall include the source of funding and method of

employment for each position.

(16) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted or construed to require a local

government or any of its agencies or offices to fund the school resource officer

positions required of local boards of education under this section. For purposes of

this subsection, "local government" has the same meaning as in KRS 65.8840.

(17) Nothing in this section shall prevent a private or parochial school from entering into

a memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency or the

Department of Kentucky State Police to provide school resource officers employed

by the local law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police.