State and local officials report more armed personnel, guardians training and a unified needs assessment coming this fall

State and local public‑safety leaders and USBE staff told the School Safety Task Force that implementation of recent school‑safety statutes is underway and that key operational measures are moving from policy into practice. Chief of the state security division (Department of Public Safety) told the task force his office is visiting schools annually to track statutory timelines and implementation. “We had about 270 [SROs] last year. My guess is we’re approaching 300 this year based on what I’ve heard from sheriffs and chiefs around the state,” Chief Jon Pennington said. Pennington also reported that “as of last week, there are 525 guardians that have been trained and submitted into the program, spanning around 20 LEAs.” Pennington said his team is checking compliance as part of an annual, smaller‑scale needs assessment that will keep a running baseline rather than re‑starting every three years. The state and USBE said they are finalizing a single, unified needs‑assessment form for statewide rollout and expect to issue it within weeks; USBE staff said the form should be ready by October and that districts already have statutory three‑year needs assessments in place unless they are brand‑new schools. Local law enforcement reflected the on‑the‑ground operational issues. Lieutenant Jared Carson, St. George Police Department, told the panel that Washington County and the district have implemented a guardian program across their schools and are scheduling the next round of guardian training. “I believe there’s a 100% in our school district with the Guardian program, at all of our schools,” Carson said, and noted the district is tracking guardian assignment and movement as personnel transfer between schools. Carson and other presenters said practical issues remain: older school buildings are not built to current secure‑entry standards; some campus layouts include unlocked inter‑building doors; and districts vary in how they staff and manage large, after‑hours events such as football games. New construction is being used where possible to build secure entryways and other features; one new Washington County school will open with the newer security designs in place. USBEs Chantelle Coda told the task force that stop‑the‑bleed and first‑aid kits are contracted and will be distributed to districts this fall. “Bleed kits and first aid kits will be in schools this fall. We are just tying a bow on that contract and getting those things out,” she said. USBE staff also said panic‑alert device selection is in a vendor review stage with PSAP and DPS experts on the panel. USBE and DPS officials reiterated that most districts are working toward compliance and that the state’s next phase is to provide support, monitor implementation and move from supportive interventions to higher levels of oversight only where needed. Chief Pennington described the tiered approach as beginning with notification and assistance and reserving more prescriptive remedies for persistent noncompliance.