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Board introduces revisions to safety policies, including framework to consider school engagement officers; Garfield principal urges piloted, limited role
Summary
The Seattle School Board on June 4 heard proposed revisions to district safety policies that would consolidate firearms and emergency rules and create a framework for campus‑specific agreements allowing narrowly defined school engagement officers.
The Seattle School Board on June 4 heard an introduction to proposed revisions of several safety‑related policies, including firearms and weapons rules, emergency planning, the district’s relationship with law enforcement, and an updated policy (policy 4311) that would permit campus‑specific agreements for school engagement officers (SEOs).
Chief Operating Officer Fred Podesta said the package is intended to align district policy with recent state guidance, to consolidate several older rules into clearer policy and superintendent procedures, and to require detailed, limited agreements and annual reviews if any law‑enforcement presence were to be formalized. Podesta told the board the changes would not return policing to schools as a routine discipline tool: “This role…
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