South Carolina General Assembly
120th Session, 2013-2014

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H. 3601

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Barfield, Clemmons, Hardee, Cobb-Hunter, H.L. Ott, Bingham, Norman, Pitts and White
Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\19905ab13.docx

Introduced in the House on February 21, 2013
Currently residing in the House Committee on Education and Public Works

Summary: School Protection Officer Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   2/21/2013  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 73)
   2/21/2013  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 73)

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

2/21/2013

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, SO AS TO ENACT THE "SCHOOL PROTECTION OFFICER ACT"; BY ADDING SECTION 59-1-165 SO AS TO DEFINE A SCHOOL PROTECTION OFFICER; BY ADDING SECTION 59-66-25 SO AS TO PROVIDE EACH SCHOOL MAY EMPLOY A SCHOOL PROTECTION OFFICER DURING REGULAR OPERATIONAL HOURS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYING THIS OFFICER; AND BY ADDING SECTION 23-23-112 SO AS TO CREATE A CLASS 4 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER CATEGORY FOR THE DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL PROTECTION OFFICERS, TO PROVIDE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COUNCIL MUST DEVELOP GUIDELINES FOR RELATED TRAINING THAT MUST BE OFFERED BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY, TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS TRAINING, AND TO PROVIDE NECESSARY DEFINITIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act must be known and may be cited as the "School Protection Officer Act".

SECTION    2.    Article 3, Chapter 1, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-1-165.    'School Protection Officer' means a person certified as a Class 4 officer by the Law Enforcement Training Council pursuant to Section 23-23-112 and intended to provide armed protection and other specific public safety and first responder functions to public school children and employees."

SECTION    3.    Chapter 66, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-66-25.    (A)    Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, each school district may employ a school protection officer for each public school offering any combination of kindergarten through twelfth grade in the district during the regular operational hours of the school during the academic year.

(B)    The presence of a school protection officer is intended to provide armed protection and other specialized public safety and first responder functions to the children and employees of each public school, with specialized training from the Criminal Justice Academy as required by the Law Enforcement Training Council pursuant to Section 23-23-112."

SECTION    4.    Chapter 23, Title 23 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 23-23-112.    (A)    There is created a category of law enforcement officers known as Class 4 for the designation of school protection officers. A person may not act as a school protection officer without attaining Class 4 certification and satisfying the requirements of Section 23-23-40, 23-23-60, and other applicable provisions of this chapter.

(B)    The Law Enforcement Training Council shall develop guidelines for a two-week training program that the Criminal Justice Academy shall offer and which a person must satisfactorily complete to be Class 4 certified. This program must include:

(1)    shoot/don't shoot training;

(2)    executive protection training;

(3)    rapid response training;

(4)    identifying and containing potential threats and occurring threats;

(5)    defusing volatile situations and resolving conflict;

(6)    communicating with law enforcement that has jurisdiction over the school;

(7)    first responder first aid; and

(8)    other training that the Council considers appropriate.

(C)    For the purposes of this section:

(1)    'Executive protection' means security measures to ensure the safety of certain people who may be exposed to heightened risk because of their employment or status, among other things.

(2)    'First responder first aid' means the provision of initial care for an illness or injury until definitive medical treatment is accessed, with the goals of preserving life, prevention of further harm, and promotion of recovery. This term also may include extended first aid skills such as defibrillation and clearing blocked human airways with appropriate medical devices.

(3)    'Public school' has the same meaning as Section 59-1-120 and includes kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, secondary school, junior high school, or high school as defined in Section 59-1-150.

(4)    'Rapid response' means the active confrontation of a developing high-risk crisis that poses an immediate and life-threatening danger to public safety.

(5)    'School protection officer' or 'SPO' has the same meaning as in Section 59-1-165.

(6)    'Shoot/don't shoot' means the decision by law enforcement on whether to use deadly force."

SECTION    5.    This act takes effect July 1, 2013.

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This web page was last updated on November 4, 2013 at 2:30 PM