Amendment ID: S2800-25-R1

Redraft Amendment 25

Training and Certification for School Resource Officers

Messrs. Boncore, Brady, Eldridge, Welch, Crighton and Collins, Ms. Creem, Ms. Gobi and Mr. Montigny move to amend the bill in section 3, by striking out, in line 90, the words “and 116H” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “, 116H and 116I”; and

by striking out section 5 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

“SECTION 5. Said chapter 6 is hereby amended by inserting after section 116G the following 2 sections:

Section 116H. The municipal police training committee, in consultation with the executive office of public safety and security, shall establish and develop basic and in-service training programs designed to train officers on the regulation of physical force under section 4 of chapter 147A. Such programs shall be included in basic and in-service training for all officers for which the committee establishes training policies and standards under section 116 and in the training programs prescribed by chapter 22C.             

Section 116I. (a) The municipal police training committee shall establish and develop an in-service training program designed to train school resource officers, as defined in section 37P of chapter 71. Such program shall include training on: (i) the ways in which legal standards regarding police interaction and arrest procedures differ for juveniles compared to adults; (ii) child and adolescent cognitive development, which shall include instruction on common child and adolescent behaviors, actions and reactions as well as the impact of trauma, mental illness and developmental disabilities on child and adolescent development and behavior; (iii) engagement and de-escalation tactics that are specifically effective with youth; and (iv) strategies for resolving conflict and diverting youth in lieu of making an arrest.

(b) The course of instruction, the learning and performance objectives and the standards for training developed pursuant to this section shall be developed in consultation with experts on child and adolescent development and child trauma and with educators and attorneys experienced in juvenile and education law.”; and

in section 6, in proposed section 222 of chapter 6 of the General Laws by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:- “The police officer standards and accreditation committee shall have the power to issue an additional certification for an individual acting, or intending to act, as a school resource officer, as defined in section 37P of chapter 71”; and

in said section 6, in proposed subsection (a) of section 223 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, by adding the following sentence:- “A person shall not be appointed as a school resource officer, as defined in section 37P of chapter 71, unless specially certified as such by the police officer standards and accreditation committee.”; and

in said section 6, in proposed subsection (b) of section 223 of chapter 6 of the General Laws by adding the following sentence:- “A person who completes a training program as prescribed by section 116I of chapter 6 shall be certified by the police officer standards and accreditation committee as a school resource officer.”; and

by inserting after section 70 the following section:-

“Section 70A. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a person who is appointed as a school resource officer, as defined in section 37P of chapter 71, as of the effective date of this act may continue in such appointment without receiving a certification to serve as such pursuant to subsection (a) of section 223 of chapter 6; provided, however, that they receive said certification by August 1, 2021.”.