Virginia House passes bill to require resource or security officers in schools

The House passed a bill along party lines that requires every school board to employ at least one school resource or security officer for each public elementary and secondary school in Virginia.

The bill, HB873, requires each school board to enter a mutual agreement with local law enforcement to hire an officer. The bill prohibits the Board of Education from permitting waivers from the agreements, but allows partial waivers that permit two schools that are within close proximity to one another or share facilities to share one officer.

Del. Karen Greenhalgh, R-Virginia Beach, prefiled the bill on Jan. 12. It passed 52-48 in the Republican-majority House and is now up for debate in a Senate Public Education subcommittee.

Greenhalgh explained the importance of this bill during a Senate Education subcommittee meeting on Feb. 7.

“School resource officers play a critical role in building positive relationships with students and providing increased threat protection,” Greenhalgh said.

Amy Woolard, director of policy at the Legal Aid Justice Center, opposed the bill during the meeting and stressed the importance of alternative school staffing.

“If we’re looking to provide additional staffing in every school, we should be looking at the standards of quality to provide the kind of support that will actually help students – school counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists,” Woolard said.

Maggie Cleary, deputy secretary of Virginia Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security, spoke in favor of the bill during the meeting. This bill helps ensure that schools are safe, she said.

“Currently in the Commonwealth, 50% of elementary schools, 10% of middle schools and 8% of high schools do not have a school resource officer,” Cleary said.

Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, asked Greenhalgh in the meeting for clarification on school boards’ ability to receive funding from the State Board of Education if they do not enter into the agreement and hire an officer.

Greenhalgh responded that school boards will receive funding if they enter the agreement and work to fill these positions. They are not required to fill the positions by a specific date and the state will fully fund the positions, she said.

Jeremy Bennett, representing the Virginia Association of Counties, spoke in opposition to the bill in the meeting out of concern for local fiscal impact.

“[We’re] not opposed to the intent of the bill,” Bennett said. “We do want to highlight that there was a local fiscal impact statement for the Senate companion to this, SB415, that estimated possible local fiscal impact ranging from zero to $19 million.”

Greenhalgh explained the financial plan behind the bill during an Appropriations subcommittee meeting on Feb. 9.

“The governor has submitted a budget amendment in HB30, Section 408, Number 18G,” Greenhalgh said,  “As it stands, about $25 million for 2023 and again for 2024 [will be budgeted] to assure financial resources are available to cover an SRO in every school.”

Stacy Haney, chief lobbyist for the Virginia School Boards Association, shared her concerns with the concept of mandating officers  in the Education subcommittee meeting.

“Right now, it is at the decision of the local school board, who is in the best position to determine the needs of their community,” Haney said. “We believe that that’s the appropriate body to determine whether a school resource officer or school security officer is needed in a particular school.”

VanValkenburg, who teaches at Glen Allen High School in Henrico County,  also opposed the bill in the Education subcommittee meeting, saying that funding should not go toward security or resource officers when it could instead support current staff and school infrastructure.

“A lot of localities have had thoughtful processes as to how to get to school resource officers if they want them – this strikes me as bad on the economics, it strikes me as bad on the process,” ValValkenburg said. “This is actually a case where we should let locals do what we want, which I don’t always say, and so I would hope that we would vote no.”