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Resident urges district to require certified school resource officer, raises concerns about BIA policing at reservation school
Summary
A community member told the Elko County School District board that students at a reservation school face intimidating interactions with BIA officers and urged the district to place a certified school resource officer (SRO) who meets Nevada requirements and protects parental notification rights.
Kathy Gibson, a community member, told the Elko County School District Board on March 18 that students and staff at a school located within reservation boundaries face safety and civil‑rights concerns and asked the board to pursue a certified school resource officer.
Gibson said the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officer currently stationed at the school has sometimes used intimidating questioning. “If you don't give me information on where you got the vape, I will arrest you for interfering with my investigation,” she said, quoting a reported interaction. She said tribal police are not “formally recognized as law enforcement within the school system” and urged the board to “formalize the presence and the role of law enforcement at the school” through memoranda of agreement and by ensuring any SRO meets Nevada certification requirements.
The board did not take action during the meeting; Gibson asked the district to consider several policy steps, including aligning local procedures with Nevada Revised Statutes for law enforcement access to students, securing funding to place an SRO who has training specific to youth engagement, and clarifying parental‑notification protections when an officer questions a child at school. “We need immediate action to protect our students, staff, and the borders of our school environment,” she said.
Board members and staff acknowledged the comment period but did not commit to a specific course of action at the meeting. The superintendent later announced a tribal consultation on district Title programs (Every Student Succeeds Act) to be held March 20 and encouraged community participation.
The issue raised affects the district’s single school located inside reservation boundaries and touches on district policy, tribal consultation obligations, and state law on law‑enforcement access to students. The board may address the matter formally in a future meeting or during the announced tribal consultation.
