Ohio House approves SRO legislation

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COLUMBUS — State Representative Craig S. Riedel (R-Defiance) has announced passage of legislation to establish certain qualifications and training requirements for school resource officers (SROs). House Bill 318 also permits SROs to provide a specified range of services to the schools they serve.

Bill sponsors Representatives Sarah LaTourette (R-Chesterland) and John Patterson (D-Jefferson) introduced the legislation so that SROs are able to have guidelines and training necessary to effectively protect students. In order to do this, the state must establish certain criteria and standards for SROs, which are currently absent in Ohio statute.

“HB 318 is good legislation that offers our schools and communities another option when it comes to school security,” Rep. Riedel said. “I will continue to work with my peers on finding additional ways to protect our children while they are learning in our schools.”

LaTourette and Patterson introduced the legislation after being approached by the Coach Hall Foundation. Frank Hall is the football coach at Chardon High School who is credited with saving countless lives that terrible day in 2012 when a student opened fire on classmates. Coach Hall chased the shooter out of the school, preventing further casualties. Today, the Coach Hall Foundation seeks to “provide effective means to protect against school violence and improve the quality of life in our school communities.”

House Bill 318 provides an appropriation to provide grants to schools that are interested in establishing an SRO program. The bill also requires SROs to complete 40 hours of specialized training offered by either the National or Ohio Association for School Resource Officers.

Additionally, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission will be permitted to conduct studies of school security upgrades in order to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to keep students safe.

The legislation passed with bipartisan support and now goes to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.