BILL NUMBER: S482
SPONSOR: OBERACKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law and the retirement and social security
law, in relation to a school resource officer program
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would establish a School Resource Officer Program under the
education law, and establish a school resource officer education grant
program to reimburse school districts outside the city of New York, for
the hiring of such a school resource officer.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
- Define the term School Resource Officer to include a retired police
officer, retired deputy sheriff, or retired state trooper, or an active
duty police officer, deputy sheriff or state trooper;
- Authorize school districts to hire school resource officers, or
contract with the state, a county, city, town or village for their
services.
- Define the principal role of a school resource officer as providing
improved public safety and/or security on school grounds, and further
delineate additional roles of a school resource officer.
- Authorize school resource officers to carry and possess firearms
during the course of their duties if licensed to do so. This bill would
further amend sections 3641 of the education law, to establish a school
resource officer grant program, in order to reimburse school districts
outside the city of New York, for the hiring of school resource offi-
cers.
- This bill would lastly amend section 211 of the retirement and social
security law, to make the position of school resource officer a factor
in the granting of a "211 waiver" allowing a retiree to earn over the
earnings limitation threshold amounts prescribed in taw.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Recent school attacks across the nation have demonstrated an important
need to increase security at schools.
Like with any threat, one of the best preventive and responsive measures
is the deployment of a law enforcement presence. The School Resource
Program would provide experienced law enforcement inside schools to
provide appropriate, trained and effective prevention, response and
recovery efforts inside our states public and non public schools.
This bill would provide a specific definition of School Resource Offi-
cer, requiring such persons to be experienced active duty or retired
members of law enforcement. It further provides, for the first time, an
important state aid component, which will allow all schools across the
state, to have the necessary funds to retain the services of such inval-
uable public protection.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S4985/A2023 of 2023-2024
S2296/A1977 of 2021-2022
S7620/A3732 of 2020-2021
S7810A/A10885 of 2018-2019
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
This bill will establish a new state education grant program, the cost
of which will depend upon the number of schools hire school resource
officers. This program would establish a grant formula, providing
$50,000 for every district that hires a single school resource officer,
or a multiple of $20,000 for multiple hires.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S482: 3641 education law, 211 retirement and social security law, 211(2) retirement and social security law