HB2142 - 572R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-154, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-154. School safety program; purpose; school safety center; program proposals; requirements; annual report; public records exemption; definitions

A. The school safety program is established within the school safety center within the department of education to support, promote and enhance safe and effective learning environments for all students by supporting the costs of placing school resource officers, juvenile probation officers, school safety officers, school counselors and school social workers on school campuses. The school safety program may also support the costs of purchasing safety technology, safety training and infrastructure improvements for school campuses as provided in subsection D of this section. A school district or charter school may apply to participate in the school safety program as provided in this section for up to three fiscal years by submitting by April 15 a program proposal to the department of education school safety center. A school district or charter school that receives approval for a three-year program under this subsection may annually submit a modified spending plan for its approved program.

B. A program proposal submitted by a school district or charter school for supporting the costs of placing school resource officers, juvenile probation officers or school safety officers, or any combination of these officers, on a school campus shall contain:

1. A detailed description of the school safety needs of the charter school or school district.

2. A plan to provide the current school building blueprints, floor plans and school safety assessments for each school site to the local law enforcement agency, emergency medical services provider and fire department that provides services to the school site.

3. A plan for implementing a law-related education program or a plan that demonstrates the existence of a law-related education program as a school safety prevention strategy.

4. A plan to use trained school resource officers, juvenile probation officers or school safety officers, or any combination of these officers, in the school.

5. A plan to train school resource officers, juvenile probation officers or school safety officers, or any combination of these officers, on the family educational rights and privacy act, civil rights and adolescent mental health issues.

6. If the school district or charter school has already participated in the school safety program, information on the success, compliance and implementation of the most recent grant.

C. A program proposal submitted by a school district or charter school for supporting the costs of placing school counselors or school social workers, or both, on a school campus shall contain:

1. A detailed description of the school safety needs of the charter school or school district.

3. A plan for implementing a school guidance and counseling program that includes the following:

(a) A detailed description of the relationship between the school counselor or the school social worker, or both, and local community resources.

(b) A plan for using school counselor and school social worker services in the school, or both.

(d) Policies on confidentiality under the school guidance and counseling plan.

(e) Policies on notifying parents and other family members of issues or concerns as identified in the school guidance and counseling plan.

(f) A detailed description of the school's, school district's or charter school's referral procedures to the appropriate community entities and state agencies.

4. If the school district or charter school has already participated in the school safety program, information on the success, compliance and implementation of the most recent approved program proposal.

D. If a school district or charter school whose program proposal pursuant to subsection B or C of this section was approved by the state board of education cannot place one or more of the school resource officers, juvenile probation officers, school safety officers, school counselors or school social workers, or any combination of these individuals, as included in the approved program proposal, the school district or charter school may submit an alternative program proposal for supporting the costs of purchasing safety technology, safety training and infrastructure improvements for its school campus or campuses. An alternative program proposal submitted pursuant to this subsection shall contain:

1. A detailed description of the safety needs of the school district or charter school.

2. A detailed description of the proposed expenditures and capital improvements, including:

(a) The safety needs that each proposed expenditure will address.

(b) The specific technology or training program that the school district or charter school seeks to acquire.

(c) For infrastructure improvements, all costs associated with the improvements, including architectural and engineering fees, safety evaluations and equipment for securing entrances and exits.

3. Any other information requested by the department of education school safety center.

E. The department of education school safety center shall review and administer the school resource officers, juvenile probation officers and school safety officers program proposals in cooperation with the courts, law enforcement agencies and law-related education providers awarded a contract pursuant to section 41-2534, subject to review and approval by the state board of education. The department of education school safety center shall use relevant crime statistics to assess the needs of each program proposal and shall visit school districts and charter schools that submit program proposals in order to verify the information contained in the program proposals. The department of education school safety center shall contract to provide guidelines, curricula and support resources for school resource officers, juvenile probation officers and school safety officers to use in implementing a law-related education program.

F. The department of education school safety center shall review and administer the school counselors and school social workers program proposals in cooperation with school administrators, principals, teachers, parents and community mental health professionals. The department of education school safety center shall use relevant school-level academic, social and emotional statistics to assess the needs of each program proposal and shall visit school districts and charter schools that submit program proposals in order to verify the information contained in the program proposals.

G. The department of education school safety center shall review and administer the safety technology, safety training and infrastructure improvements program proposals. The department school safety center shall use relevant crime statistics to assess the needs of each program proposal and may visit school districts and charter schools that submit program proposals in order to verify the information contained in the program proposals. The department school safety center may approve all or part of a safety technology, safety training or infrastructure improvement program proposal.

H. The department of education school safety center, subject to the review and approval of the state board of education, shall distribute monies to the school districts and charter schools that are in compliance with program requirements prescribed in this section and in section 15-154.02 and whose program proposals have been approved by the state board of education.

I. The department of education school safety center shall review program proposals submitted by school districts and charter schools for participation in the school safety program and shall select school sites that are eligible to receive funding based on school safety needs pursuant to this section. The department of education school safety center may prioritize program proposals for school resource officer, juvenile probation officer and school safety officer grants to school districts and charter schools that have agreements to share the cost of the school resource officer, juvenile probation officer or school safety officer with a law enforcement agency or the courts.

J. The department of education school safety center shall evaluate the effectiveness of all the approved program proposals submitted pursuant to subsections B, C and D of this section within the school safety program and report on the activities of the program and the participants in the school safety program to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the governor on or before November 1 of each year and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state. The evaluation and report shall include survey results from participating schools and data from participating schools on the impact of participating in the school safety program. The department school safety center shall establish data guidelines for school safety program participants to follow in reporting pursuant to this subsection.

K. The school safety program established by this section shall include school safety center shall adopt a school safety program guidance manual adopted by the department of education for the school safety program established by this section that requires a dispute resolution process to be included in the service agreement between a school district or charter school that submitted a program proposal and received a school resource officer grant or school safety officer grant from the school safety program and the law enforcement agency that provides services to the school district or charter school.

L. Any appropriations that are made to the department of education or the school safety center within the department of education for the approved program proposals within the school safety program are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. The school safety center may use not more than $6,500,000 per year from the monies appropriated for the school safety program for the costs of administering the school safety program. All monies that are not used for an approved program proposal within the school safety program during the fiscal year for which the monies were appropriated revert to the department of education school safety center for distribution to the program in the following fiscal year.

M. Monies received by A school district or charter school under that receives monies pursuant to the school safety program shall be spent use the monies to implement the school district's or charter school's approved program proposals proposal.

N. The auditor general shall include the school safety program as part of its ongoing sunset review of agencies and programs.

O. Notwithstanding any other law, school building blueprints and floor plans are not public records and are exempt from title 39, chapter 1.

P. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Law-related education" means interactive education to equip children and youth with knowledge and skills pertaining to the law, school safety and effective citizenship.

2. "Law-related education program" means a program designed to provide children and youth with knowledge, skills and activities pertaining to the law and legal process and to promote law-abiding behavior with the purpose of preventing children and youth from engaging in delinquency or violence and enabling them to become productive citizens.

3. "School counselor" means a professional educator who holds a valid school counselor certificate issued by the department of education.

4. "School guidance and counseling program" means a counseling program that supports, promotes and enhances the academic, personal, social, emotional and career development of all students.

5. "School resource officer" means any of the following:

(a) A peace officer.

(b) A full-authority reserve peace officer who is certified by the Arizona peace officer standards and training board.

(c) An individual who was previously employed as a peace officer in this state, who retired in good standing and who is assigned to participate in the school safety program by a law enforcement agency pursuant to section 15-155.

6. "School safety officer" means a school resource officer who is working in an off-duty capacity.

7. "School social worker" means a professional educator who holds a valid school social worker certificate issued by the department of education. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-154.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-154.02. Emergency response plans; school safety assessments; approved providers; triennial safety assessments

A. Each school district and charter school that receives monies pursuant to section 15-154 for an approved school safety program shall do both of the following:

1. Develop an emergency response plan pursuant to section 15-341, subsection A, paragraph 31 or section 15-183, subsection E, paragraph 10 to satisfy the requirements prescribed in this paragraph.

2. Every five years, contract with a school safety assessment provider from the list compiled pursuant to subsection B of this section to conduct a school safety assessment, including an assessment of the physical security of each school site and a review of the emergency response plan for each school site.

B. The school safety center within the department of education shall compile a list of approved school safety assessment providers and shall make the list available to school districts and charter schools that participate in the school safety program established by section 15-154.

C. Every three years, the department of education school safety center shall select a random sample of school districts and charter schools that are participating in the school safety program established by section 15-154 and shall conduct a safety assessment of the selected school districts and charter schools. The department school safety center shall provide a copy of the safety assessment results to the respective school district's governing board or charter school's governing body and the administrators of each school site that was assessed. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 15-155, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-155. School safety program; funding

A. The school safety center within the department of education shall cooperate with the county school superintendent, the county sheriff and the local chief of police to allow a law enforcement agency, with the consent of the school, to assign a peace officer, a full-authority reserve peace officer who is certified by the Arizona peace officer standards and training board or an individual who was previously employed as a peace officer in this state and who retired in good standing to participate in the school safety program in each school in the county. The cost of the peace officer is a state charge that is funded by the department of education school safety center, except for agreements to share the cost of the school resource officer pursuant to section 15-154, subsection I.

B. In cooperation with the department of education school safety center and the county school superintendent and with the consent of the school, the presiding judge of the juvenile court may assign juvenile probation officers to participate in the school safety program in each school in the county. The cost of juvenile probation officers is a state charge that is funded by the department of education school safety center, except for agreements to share the cost of the juvenile probation officer pursuant to section 15-154, subsection I. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Title 15, chapter 2, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-249.20, to read:

START_STATUTE15-249.20. School safety center; duties; school safety center council; members

a. THE SCHOOL SAFETY CENTER IS ESTABLISHED WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. THE SCHOOL SAFETY CENTER, with support from the school safety center council established by subsection B of this section, SHALL:

1. USE SCHOOL SAFETY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE TO identify BEST PRACTICES for ENHANCing SCHOOL SAFETY in this state.

2. PROVIDE STATEWIDE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT to SCHOOL SAFETY PERSONNEL, INCLUDING TRAINING RELATED TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, THREAT RESPONSE, CAMPUS SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND PREVENTION MEASURES THAT PROMOTE SCHOOL SAFETY.

3. ADMINISTER THE SCHOOL SAFETY PROGRAM ESTABLISHED BY SECTION 15-154, INCLUDING REVIEWING GRANT APPLICATIONS, MONITORING GRANT RECIPIENTS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH ALL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, REVIEWING PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AND ENFORCING CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUIREMENTS.

4. PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS for the development of PROGRAMS proposals for the school safety program pursuant to section 15-154.

5. Provide technical assistance to school districts and charter schools for the development of EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS PURSUANT TO SECTION 15-183, subsection E, paragraph 10, section 15-341, subsection A, paragraph 31 and section 15-154.02, subsection A, paragraph 1.

6. RESEARCH AND EVALUATE SCHOOL SAFETY programs, INITIATIVES, OUTCOMES AND PREVENTION MEASURES THAT PROMOTE SCHOOL SAFETY.

7. CONDUCT SCHOOL SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENTS. THE school safety CENTER MAY OFFER SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS to a school BASED ON the FINDINGS of a risk assessment that is conducted pursuant to this paragraph.

8. ADOPT GUIDELINES FOR THREAT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND PHYSICAL CAMPUS SECURITY PLANNING.

9. Adopt guidelines for coordination between schools, the division of emergency management within the department of emergency and military affairs, the department of public safety and any local law enforcement agency, emergency medical services provider or fire department that provides services to schools.

10. Provide technical assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies to enhance each agency's ability to respond to online threats against one or more schools.

B. The school safety center council is established to support the school safety center. The council is composed of the following members:

1. One member who represents the school safety center and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

2. One member who represents a statewide association of chiefs of police and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

3. One member who represents a statewide association of sheriffs and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

4. One member who represents a statewide association of law enforcement officers and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

5. The executive director of the Arizona peace officer standards and TRAINING board or the executive director's designee.

6. The director of the department of emergency and military affairs or the director's designee.

7. The director of the Arizona department of homeland security or the director's designee.

8. One member who represents a statewide association of school resource officers and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

9. One member who is a peace officer in a county with a population of at least two hundred thousand persons and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

10. One member who is a peace officer in a county with a population of less than one hundred thousand persons and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

11. One member who is a superintendent of a school in this state and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

12. One member who is employed by a school district to oversee school safety and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

13. One member who represents a nonprofit corporation that operates as a risk retention pool for public schools and community college districts in this state and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

14. One member who represents a statewide organization that supports school counselors and social workers and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

15. One member who represents a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, who researches school safety and who is appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.

16. One member who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

17. One member who is appointed by the president of the senate.

C. The members of the school safety center council shall select a chairperson from AMONG the council members each calendar year. Members are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2. The initial members shall assign themselves by lot to terms of two, three and four years in office. All subsequent members serve four-year terms of office. The chairperson shall notify the superintendent of public instruction, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of these terms. The department of education shall provide meeting space and administrative support to the council. END_STATUTE