I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 608 
To direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education to develop 
and implement best practices for occupation-specific education for school 
resource officers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 16, 2019 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. RUPPERSBERGER) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of Edu-
cation to develop and implement best practices for occu-
pation-specific education for school resource officers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Watch and Tac-
tics Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST 
PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Education, shall— 
(1) for the purpose of developing best practices 
for occupation-specific education for school resource 
officers, consult with— 
(A) State educational agencies and local 
educational agencies; 
(B) State and local law enforcement agen-
cies; 
(C) school resource officers; 
(D) principals and other school leaders; 
(E) school safety experts, including individ-
uals with expertise in tactical responses to secu-
rity concerns; and 
(F) any other stakeholders determined to 
be relevant by the Attorney General; 
(2) not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and based on the consultation 
carried out under paragraph (1), develop and dis-
seminate best practices for any occupation-specific 
education for school resource officers, including edu-
cation in tactical responses to active shooter inci-
dents and other security concerns; and 
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(3) publish the best practices developed under 
paragraph (2) on a publicly accessible website of the 
Department of Justice. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) SCHOOL
RESOURCE
OFFICER.—The term 
‘‘school resource officer’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 1709(4) of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10389(4)). 
(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’, ‘‘school leader’’, and ‘‘State edu-
cational agency’’ have the meanings given the terms 
in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
SEC. 3. REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Education, shall submit to Congress 
a report that includes the best practices developed under 
section 2. 
Æ 
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