Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “School Resource Officer Act of 2018”.
School Resource Officer Act of 2018
A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require a certain percentage of COPS grant funds to be used for the salaries and benefits of school resource officers, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
a school resource officer program provides a safe learning environment in our Nation’s schools, provides valuable resources to school staff members, and fosters positive relationships between youth and law enforcement;
school resource officers are educators, informal counselors and mentors, and law enforcement officers;
local agencies need the resources and flexibility to establish school resource officer programs that will encourage partnerships between schools and local law enforcement agencies to develop innovative ways to make schools safe; and
Federal grants for school resource officer salaries are intended to be a starting point for continued local action and should not divert current designated funding.
Sec. 3 Funding for COPS in Schools
Authorization of appropriations— Section 1001(a)(11)(A) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(A)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, and $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2022”.
Repeal termination of grants for hiring officers—
In general— Section 1701(i) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(i)) is repealed.
Conforming amendment— Section 1701(j)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(j)(1)) is amended by striking “subsection (i) and”.
School resource officer funding— Section 1704 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10384) is amended—
in subsection (c), by striking “$75,000” and inserting “$125,000”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(d) School resource officers set aside—Not less than 30 percent of the amount made available for hiring and rehiring additional career law enforcement officers shall be made available for the salaries and benefits of the school resource officers hired pursuant to a partnership described in section 1701(b)(12).”