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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
REVISED
ADE; school safety; center; programs
Purpose
Establishes the School Safety Center (Center) within the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and the School Safety Center Council (Council) to support the Center. Outlines Council membership and duties and requirements on the Center. Transfers, from ADE to the Center, oversight of and administrative requirements relating to the School Safety Program (Program).
Background
The Program supports, promotes and enhances safe and effective learning environments for all students by supporting the costs of placing school resource officers (SROs), juvenile probation officers (JPOs), school safety officers (SSOs), school counselors and school social workers on school campuses. A school district or charter school may apply to participate in the Program for up to three fiscal years by submitting a Program proposal that contains specified information to ADE. ADE must review and administer the Program proposals and, subject to review and approval by the State Board of Education (SBE), distribute monies to the school districts and charter schools that comply with Program requirements. If the SBE approves a school district's or charter school's Program proposal and the school district or charter school cannot place one or more of the SROs, JPOs, SSOs, school counselors or social workers included in the approved Program proposal, the school district or charter school may submit an alternate Program proposal as outlined for supporting the costs of purchasing safety technology, safety training and infrastructure improvements for its school campuses.
Any appropriations for approved Program proposals are exempt from
lapsing. All Program monies that are not used for an approved Program proposal
during the fiscal year for which the monies were appropriated revert to ADE for
distribution in the following fiscal year. ADE must evaluate the effectiveness
of all the approved Program proposals and annually report on Program activities
and participants to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the Governor by November 1 and provide a copy of this report to the Secretary
of State (A.R.S.
§ 15-154).
A school district governing board or charter of a charter school, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and emergency response agencies, must develop an emergency response plan for each school in accordance with minimum standards developed jointly by ADE and the Division of Emergency Management within the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA). Each school district and charter school that receives monies for an approved Program must develop an emergency response plan and contract with a school safety assessment provider every five years to conduct a school safety assessment as outlined. Every three years, ADE must select a random sample of participating Program schools, conduct a safety assessment and provide a copy of the safety assessment results to the school district's governing board or charter school's governing body and the administrators of each school site that was assessed (A.R.S. §§ 15-154; 15-154.02; 15-183 and 15-341).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Establishes the Center within ADE.
2. Requires the Center, with support from the Council, to:
a) use school safety subject matter expertise to identify best practices for enhancing school safety;
b) 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;
c) administer the Program, including reviewing grant applications, monitoring grant recipients to ensure compliance with all Program requirements, reviewing Program performance and enforcing corrective action requirements;
d) provide technical assistance to school districts and charter schools for the development of emergency response plans and Program proposals;
e) research and evaluate Programs, initiatives, outcomes and prevention measures that promote school safety;
f) conduct school safety risk assessments;
g) adopt guidelines for threat vulnerability assessments and physical campus planning;
h) adopt guidelines for coordination between schools, the Division of Emergency Management within DEMA, the Department of Public Safety and any local LEA and emergency medical services provider or fire department that provides services to schools; and
i) provide technical assistance to state and local LEAs to enhance each agency's ability to respond to online threats against one or more schools.
3. Specifies that the Center may offer specific recommendations to a school based on the findings of a risk assessment that is conducted as prescribed.
4. Establishes the Council to support the Center, consisting of:
a) one member who represents the Center and is appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI);
b) one member who represents a statewide association of chiefs of police and is appointed by the SPI;
c) one member who represents a statewide association of sheriffs and is appointed by the SPI;
d) one member who represents a statewide association of law enforcement officers and is appointed by the SPI;
e) the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board Executive Director (Executive Director), or the Executive Director's designee;
f) the DEMA Director or the DEMA Director's designee;
g) the Department of Homeland Security (AZDOHS) Director or the AZDOHS Director's designee;
h) one member who represents a statewide association of SROs and is appointed by the SPI;
i) one member who is a peace officer in a county with a population of more than 200,000 persons and is appointed by the SPI;
j) one member who is a peace officer in a county with a population of fewer than 100,000 persons and is appointed by the SPI;
k) one member who is a superintendent of a school and is appointed by the SPI;
l) one member who is employed by a school district to oversee school safety and is appointed by the SPI;
m) one member who represents a nonprofit corporation that operates as a risk retention pool for public schools and community college districts and is appointed by the SPI;
n) one member who represents a statewide organization that supports school counselors and social workers and is appointed by the SPI;
o) one member who represents the public universities, researches school safety and is appointed by the SPI;
p) on member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
q) one member appointed by the Senate President.
5. Requires the Council members to select a chairperson from among the Council members each calendar year.
6. Determines that Council members are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of statutorily outlined expenses.
7. Requires the initial Council members to assign themselves by lot to terms of two, three and four years in office.
8. Determines that all subsequent Council members serve four-year terms of office.
9. Requires the Council chairperson to notify the SPI, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President of the terms of office.
10. Requires ADE to provide meeting space and administrative support to the Council.
11. Transfers, from ADE to the Center, oversight of and administrative requirements relating to the Program, including:
a) reviewing and administering Program proposals that a school district or charter school submits;
b) evaluating the effectiveness of all the approved Program proposals submitted;
c) distributing Program monies to participating school districts and charter schools;
d) adopting a Program guidance manual; and
e) ensuring compliance with the emergency response plan requirements.
12. Prohibits the Center from using more than $6,500,000 per year from the monies appropriated for the Program for Program administrative costs.
13. Makes technical and conforming changes.
14. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Revisions
· Corrects the Council membership.
House Action
ED 1/13/26 DP 6-4-1-1
3rd Read 3/3/26 34-21-4-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 19, 2026
MH/KP/hk