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​School Security Personnel

"School security personnel" are defined as SPOs, SROs, and school security guards. 

An SPO is any of the following:

  • A law enforcement officer employed by a school entity or nonpublic school whose responsibilities, including work hours, are established by the school entity or nonpublic school.
  • An independent contractor or an individual provided through a third-party vendor who has been appointed by a judge of the court of common pleas of the county within which the school entity or nonpublic school is situated, as designated by the school board or administration of the nonpublic school.

NOTE: An independent contractor is an individual, including a retired Federal agent or retired State, municipal or military police officer or retired sheriff or deputy sheriff, whose responsibilities, including work hours, are established in a written contract with a school entity or a nonpublic school for the purpose of performing school security services.

A third-party vendor is a company or entity approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Office for Safe Schools or the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) that provides school security services. 

An SRO is a law enforcement officer commissioned and employed by a law enforcement agency whose duty station is located in a school entity or nonpublic school and whose stationing is established by an agreement between the law enforcement agency and the school entity or nonpublic school. The term also includes an active certified sheriff or deputy sheriff whose stationing in the school entity or nonpublic school is established by a written agreement between the county, the sheriff's office and the school entity or nonpublic school.

A school security guard is an individual employed by a school entity, nonpublic school or a third-party vendor or an independent contractor who is assigned to a school for routine safety and security duties and has not been granted school police officer powers and duties. A school security guard may provide the following services as determined by the school entity or nonpublic school: school safety support services; enhanced campus supervision; assistance with disruptive students; monitoring visitors on campus; coordination with law enforcement officials, including SPOs and SROs; and security functions which improve and maintain school safety.

All SPOs, SROs, and unarmed school security guards hired prior to September 2, 2019 must successfully complete the required instruction (see below) no later than the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

Armed school security guards hired prior to September 2, 2019 must successfully complete the specific instruction required by Act 67 no later than February 28, 2020, unless the school entity or nonpublic school approves an extension of time due to “hardship”. If an extension of time is approved, the extension may not exceed the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year and must be approved through the process outlined below.

School security personnel hired on or after September 2, 2019 must successfully complete the required instruction prior to starting their duties.