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POST proposes electronic basic‑course waiver submissions and raises eligibility thresholds
Summary
POST recommended moving basic course waiver (BCW) applications to an online submission system and raising minimum eligibility requirements — increasing academy hours from 200 to 400, extending patrol experience to two years and adding a six‑year maximum break in qualifying service.
POST staff presented proposed amendments to the Basic Course Waiver (BCW) program on June 3, including an electronic submission system and higher minimum qualifications for applicants from other states.
Lede: Law enforcement consultant Michael Marshall told the advisory committee that POST receives roughly 50 BCW applicants a year and that, since Jan. 2020, 272 applicants received waivers; POST staff proposes web‑based submissions and a raised eligibility floor aligned to contemporary academies.
Details of the proposal - Electronic submissions: POST will implement an online portal for applicants to submit BCW and specialized investigator BCW (SIBCW) applications, upload supporting documentation, and obtain instructional packets; staff cited privacy risks from mailed paper portfolios and the inefficiency of the current paper process. - Eligibility increases: proposals include raising the minimum academy length requirement for BCW applicants from 200 to 400 hours; increasing required patrol/general law enforcement experience from one year to two years; and adding a maximum gap rule — applicants’ last qualifying employment must be no more than six years before application. - Additional changes: applicants would be required to attest they left prior employment in good standing and are not decertified in another jurisdiction. POST also proposed removing a regulatory conflict that currently allows an extra opportunity to retake an academy requalification course beyond the six‑month completion window; staff recommended returning to the previous rule that a failed requalification requires taking a full regular basic course.
Why it matters: the changes align portability standards to current academy norms (most academies now exceed 400 hours), reduce paper‑handling risks, and narrow the waiver pool to more recent, current training and experience.
Next steps: POST will develop the online submission portal and include the changed eligibility elements in proposed regulatory language for commission consideration.
