House committee adopts statewide baseline training for school safety; three-tier program approved in substitutes

The House Education and Workforce Committee on a voice and roll-call series of votes moved the session forward on a package of school-safety measures and unanimously adopted H‑1 substitutes that direct the Michigan State Police's Office of School Safety to coordinate multi-tiered training statewide.

The substitutes adopted by the committee require three tiers of training: one for school resource officers, one for school crisis team members, and one for all school personnel who have regular contact with students. Representative Harris, sponsor of House Bill 4,223, said schools would be required to develop and implement a school safety and training plan beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

The committee emphasized the need for a statewide baseline so districts and local law enforcement have common expectations. "It is imperative to not only have great training for your school districts and your police departments, but that there is some similarity across districts and police departments across the state," Harris said, citing experience coordinating responses in Oakland County.

Representative Pablo, sponsor of House Bill 4,315, described the substitute adopted for his bill and the coordination role of state agencies: "This substitute requires MSP and the Office of School Safety to coordinate with the Michigan Department of Education and the AG to provide 3 tiers of training for school personnel ... for school resource officers, for school crisis team members, and for all the school personnel who have regular contact with students." He also said the aim is a single, "one-stop shop" housed at MSP so districts and departments do not have to search multiple agency websites for guidance.

Committee members pressed presenters on funding, scope and local flexibility. Representative Boyce asked how the package differs from existing local training and whether the state would require or fund additional training. Harris said the bills set a statewide baseline and leave districts and local departments free to augment the training; the intention is for MSP to take the lead and for the Office of School Safety to host the consolidated resources. "If you want to get more granular that local school district or the police departments can enhance or go beyond that," Harris said.

Support for the bills was noted in submitted testimony. The Michigan Association of School Boards filed a support card for an earlier related bill; principals' and superintendents' associations filed support cards for the H-1 substitutes, recorded by the clerk.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 4,225 (reported with recommendation): reported by committee; roll call recorded 10 yeas, 0 nays. (Chair DeBoer; Rep. Linting; Fox; Coombs; Saint Germain; Pavlov; Wilson; Bozart; Weiss; Burns) - House Bill 4,229 H-1 (reported with recommendation): reported by committee as substitute H-1; roll call recorded 10 yeas, 0 nays. (Chair DeBoer; Rep. Linting; Paquette; Fox; *****; Saint Germain; Pavlov; Wilson; Bozart; Weiss; Burns) - House Bill 4,223 H-1 (substitute adopted): roll call recorded 10 yeas, 0 nays. (Chair DeBoer; Rep. Linting; Paquette; Fox; *****; Saint Germain; Pavlov; Wilson; Bozart; Weiss; Burns) - House Bill 4,315 H-1 (substitute adopted): roll call recorded 10 yeas, 0 nays. (Chair Moore; Rep. Linting; others recorded by the clerk)

Why it matters: Sponsors and witnesses said the bills create uniform expectations so SROs, crisis teams and school staff respond and train in compatible ways across districts. The committee adopted the H-1 substitutes unanimously and sent the measures forward with committee recommendations.

The committee took testimony from sponsors Representative Harris and Representative Pablo and accepted submitted support from education and law-enforcement associations; no funding appropriation was enacted in committee and members asked staff to return with technical tweaks.