School Resource Officer Discussion

City of Madison Education Committee Draft PDF:

Heather Allen, the Legislative Policy Analyst for City of Madison, and Quentin Penn-Jointer, Community Development AASPIRE Intern, shared a summary of School Resource Officer (SRO) models around the country. SROs have become more common with 20,000 currently in schools.

Nationally there are no specific training programs for SROs. The perception of safety has been increased in schools with SROs, but there is no direct correlation of actual increased safety.

One report recommended every SRO receive at least 40 hours of pre-service training and at least 10 hours annually. Training would include adolescent development, psychology, behavioral issues and conflict resolution. Challenges for SRO programs include training of supervisors and the policies regarding school discipline versus police issues.