HCR218

WHEREAS, establishing safe campuses is central to fostering a conducive teaching and learning environment; and

WHEREAS, according to The Council of State Governments, there is a long history of sworn police officers being assigned to public schools to help with crime prevention, mentoring, addressing crime and disorder, and critical incident or disaster planning; and

WHEREAS, nationally, schools may have municipal or county school resource officers assigned to campuses, school police officers from school districts' own police agencies on campus, or non-sworn security personnel that patrol schools alone or in combination with school-based officers; and

WHEREAS, Department of Education (DOE) schools partner with local law enforcement to reinforce and maintain safety and security on school campuses; and

WHEREAS, there are currently 38 School Resource Officers (SROs) assigned to middle/intermediate schools and high schools on the Neighbor Islands: 18 SROs in Hawaii District, 7 SROs in Kauai District, and 13 SROs in Maui District; and

WHEREAS, SROs are part of a school's staff and, among their various responsibilities:

(1) Assist with school safety plans and campus security support;

(2) Provide instruction to students and school officials in various activities in accordance with anti-crime, anti-drug, and anti-violence programs;

(3) Provide class presentations on the law;

(4) Serve as trainers and mentors who teach students about safety;

(5) Build positive relationships with school staff, students, and the school community, including developing and maintaining effective communication and working relationships among law enforcement, students, school officials, and the community; and

(6) Participate in professional development activities, including safety and security workshops; Title 8, Chapter 19, Hawaii Administrative Rules, Student Misconduct, Discipline, School Searches and Seizures, Reporting Offenses, Police Interviews and Arrests, and Restitution for Vandalism; and other school-level activities addressing school-wide goals; and

WHEREAS, SROs are sworn law enforcement officers, typically active duty police officers, who are located at schools and are a fundamental part of school campus safety and security on the Neighbor Islands; and

WHEREAS, SROs are paid for solely by county funding through a written agreement between the DOE and each of the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui; and

WHEREAS, the DOE does not have SROs on Oahu campuses; and

WHEREAS, although current funding for SROs is not provided by the State, the DOE should be able to leverage equitable funding to obtain federal assistance to provide SROs in all DOE schools statewide; and

WHEREAS, to enable the DOE to have a law enforcement presence on DOE campuses statewide, the DOE is requested to seek additional funding for SROs; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the DOE is requested to seek federal grants and additional county funding for SROs at other DOE schools in the Counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui, and to establish SROs at DOE schools in the City and County of Honolulu; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DOE is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2019 on the progress and actions it has taken to obtain federal grants and county funding for the hiring of SROs at DOE campuses statewide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Superintendent of Education, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, and Mayors of the Counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Education; School Resource Officers; Campus Safety and Security

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	218
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII