• In California, the Sacramento School Board is implementing a new plan that will reduce the number of school resource officers in the district and place them off-campus. The proposal, known as “Reimagine School Safety,” seeks to provide greater mental health support resources and more training on implicit bias in place of the current number of school resource officers. There are currently eight officers and one sergeant assigned to cover 75 schools; the new plan would reduce that total to about three.
• In Missouri, State Auditor Nicole Galloway formally requested Governor Mike Parson call a special legislative session to implement recommendations made by a school safety task force. The Missouri School Safety Task Force, released a report with recommendations for protection of students, including better training for mental health issues and the presence school-based law enforcement.
• In Florida, the Broward County committee tasked with investigating the Parkland school shooting and issuing campus safety recommendations announced that there were still more than two dozen charter schools in Broward County that have not established a plan to hire their own security guards as required by state law. Other school districts in Florida are having the same problem.
• In Pennsylvania, the Line Mountain School District is starting the school year with a mental health initiative. The program provides behavioral health support as needed during school, after school and on weekends. Counselors can carry a caseload of 18 to 20 students. Teachers and administration can recommend the program to families, or families can request to be a part of the program.