Report Title:

School Safety Manager Program

 

Description:

Allows the department of education to establish a school safety manager program to employ up to 100% full-time equivalent retired police officers and law enforcement officers in school safety manager positions without affecting retirement benefits.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1885

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to school safety.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The education of the children of this State requires a safe and secure school environment that enables students and teachers to concentrate on teaching and learning without being distracted by disruptions and threat of injury. It has been increasingly clear that the creation of a safe school environment depends on the availability of expertise to attend to and address myriad school safety responsibilities. In many of our secondary schools, the understanding of law enforcement concepts, strategies, and techniques are necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff. To that end, the department of education has embarked on a school safety manager program as a proof-of-concept project that places retired police officers and law enforcement officers in secondary schools to coordinate safe school activities.

The legislature believes that there is a sizeable number of retired police officers who are highly trained, ready, and willing to assume school safety manager positions; provided they are hired without loss of their current retirement benefits. Accordingly, the purposes of this Act are to establish a school safety manager program and to enable retired police officers and law enforcement officers to be employed as school safety managers without affecting retirement benefits.

The legislature further believes that the school safety manager program will enhance the safety and security of students and employees by providing the necessary expertise for achieving safe learning environments. Acting as on-site consultants, the school safety managers will rely on invaluable experience and provide expertise on school safety matters. The school safety manager program offers hope, optimism, and confidence that schools will be increasingly proactive in addressing school safety. The school safety manager program will help to provide an improved and coordinated response to school safety issues.

In order to increase academic achievement, a student must first feel safe in school; parents must also believe that their children are safe in school. Recent community events in Hawaii, violent incidents at some mainland schools, and the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, have raised the awareness of and the need for school safety to a much higher level and have indelibly stamped the need to ensure that personnel, plans, training, response models, and systems are in place to prevent and respond professionally and effectively to crises to minimize negative impact on students and staff and allow a quick return to normalcy.

The expected results from the school safety manager program include safe schools where fear is eliminated, where bullying is non-existent, where the school climate is positive, where there is a significant decrease in school incidents, where absenteeism and truancy rates are reduced, where there is restored confidence in the schools by the public, and where improved academic achievement is realized. Schools will be able to de-escalate crisis situations effectively and implement successful preventive strategies. The busy school administrators, with on-site administrative support provided by the school safety managers, will be able to devote the time and effort required to fulfill the education mission and concentrate on implementing standards-based education. School administrators alone can no longer be expected to have the specialized training and expertise required to deal with the increasingly complex school safety concerns. Viable school safety plans call for an unprecedented expertise relating to school safety.

Ultimately, if safe schools are not achieved, the results will be fodder for the media and the public’s confidence in the public schools will continue to erode. The inability to provide safe schools may translate into poor student achievement and a working citizenry unable to contribute to its community in a productive and meaningful way and may not allow for the survival and continuation of our democratic society.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A-   School safety. The department may establish a school safety manager program employing up to one hundred per cent full-time equivalent retired police officers and law enforcement officers in school safety manager positions, with the prior approval of the superintendent of education and pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. Retired police officers and law enforcement officers may be employed as school safety managers without affecting retirement benefits. Sections 88-21, 88-42.5, 88-43, 88-45, and 88-46, and any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, retired police officers and law enforcement officers shall continue to receive without penalty retirement benefits to which they are entitled as if they were not employed as school safety managers, but shall not be eligible to accrue any additional service credits under chapter 88. The school safety manager shall provide assistance to the school administrator to ensure that personnel, plans, training, response models, and systems are in place to prevent and respond professionally and effectively to crises to minimize negative impact on students and staff and allow for a quick return to normalcy. School safety managers shall attend professionally and swiftly to all matters related to the daily demands of school safety, implement successful preventive strategies, and de-escalate crisis situations effectively."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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