Bill Text: WV HB4862 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Introduction of a “School Safety Program”
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-17 - To House Education [HB4862 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2024-HB4862-Introduced.html
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 4862
By Delegates Hillenbrand, Adkins, Ward, Petitto, Brooks, Butler, Crouse, Kirby, Sheedy, Horst, and Warner
[Introduced January 17, 2024; Referred
to the Committee on Education then Finance ]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-9F-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the School Access Safety Act; the school access safety plan; and requiring that all such plans provide for not less than two school resource officers or prevention resources officers for each school system.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 9F. SCHOOL ACCESS SAFETY ACT.
§18-9F-3. School access safety plan.
(a) To facilitate the goals of this article and to ensure the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds, each county board seeking funds for school access safety projects during a fiscal year shall submit to the authority a school access safety plan or annual plan update that addresses the school access safety needs of each school facility in the county. In developing its plan, the county board shall consult with the Countywide Council on Productive and Safe Schools in accordance with the provisions of this section and §18-5-42 of this code.
(b) The safety plan shall include at least the following:
(1) A countywide inventory of each school facility's means of ingress to and egress from the school for students, school employees, parents, visitors and emergency personnel including, but not limited to:
(A) The number of controlled points of ingress to the school facility;
(B) The number and placement of exterior doors;
(C) The use of monitoring systems on exterior doors;
(D) The use of timed, magnetic or other locks on exterior doors;
(E) The use of two-way communication systems between points of ingress and school personnel;
(F) The use of functional panic or other alarm hardware on exterior doors; and
(G) The use of remote visitor access systems on points of ingress;
(2) The recommendations and guidelines developed by the Countywide Council on Productive and Safe Schools pursuant to §18-5-42 of this code, together with the county board's assessment of the recommendations and guidelines;
(3) Recommendations for effective communication and coordination between school facilities, local law-enforcement agencies and local emergency services agencies in the county;
(4) An assessment of the current status of crime committed on school campuses and at school-related functions;
(5) A projected school access safety repair and renovation schedule for all school facilities in the county;
(6) A prioritized list of all projects contained in the plan, including the projected cost of each project;
(7) A description of how:
(A) The plan addresses the goals of this article and guidelines established by the authority;
(B) Each project furthers the county board's safety plan, facilities plan and school major improvement plan;
(8) Notation of the funds available for allocation and disbursement to the county board pursuant to section six of this article;
(9) A description of any source of local funds that the county board intends to contribute to the safety projects, or an approved financial hardship waiver, to satisfy the local contribution requirements of section six of this article;
(10) All school safety programs shall provide for not less than two school resource officers or prevention resources officers for each school system;
(A) The school resource officers or prevention resources officers shall be employees of and report directly to the county sheriff who shall be funded by the county commission of the county in which the school or schools are located;
(B) The school resource officers or prevention resources officers shall be used as floating officers using unmarked vehicles between all schools unless the school system has sufficient school resource officers or prevention resources officers, including the officers directed by this legislation, to have at least one permanently assigned school resource officer or prevention resources officer for each school;
(C) The plan shall provide funding to provide high visibility, durable signage no less than 24" x 24" to be posted conspicuously at each school reading "This school is protected by the (Name of County)_Sheriff Department; and
(10) (11) Any other element considered appropriate by the authority or required by the guidelines established pursuant to section three of this article, including any project and maintenance specification.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that all plans of the School Access Safety Act; provide for not less than two school resource officers or prevention resources officers for each school system.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.