Draft SRO memorandum and SOP refined after feedback; board shown selection, training and accountability plans
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Summary
Division staff presented a revised draft memorandum of understanding and a published standard operating procedure for a planned SRO program, emphasizing selection with student and staff input, extensive training requirements, a matrix limiting SRO involvement, and accountability language in the MOU.
Superintendent staff presented draft foundational documents for a School Resource Officer program on Nov. 6, telling the school board the administration had revised a memorandum of understanding and published a standard operating procedure informed by community, staff and student feedback.
"There is a universal agreement that we do now want our SROs to enforce school discipline or address minor misconduct," Dr. Johnson said while reviewing the SOP's involvement matrix. The SOP and MOU define when SROs would and would not engage and place most day-to-day disciplinary responsibility with school administrators and care and safety assistants, the presentation said.
The draft plan calls for one SRO at Charlottesville High School and one at Charlottesville Middle School; selection procedures described in the SOP include input from students, staff and parents or guardians. The SOP outlines required, recurring training areas for officers and school staff that include youth mental-health and crisis intervention, de-escalation, implicit and racial-bias training, restorative justice and cultural competency, and specifies that the SOP is a living document subject to continued refinement.
Dr. Johnson said community input emphasized program accountability and transparency. The MOU includes provisions for data and accountability; the SOP refers stakeholders to the MOU for reporting elements while also establishing operational details such as selection steps and a matrix that clarifies when SRO involvement is appropriate.
Student and staff feedback gathered this fall shows a spectrum of opinion, Dr. Johnson said: surveys and lunchtime events found a "shared sense of cautious optimism" in some students but also concerns that SROs' presence could negatively affect students of color and students with disabilities. Students the division surveyed and engaged indicated they want to meet SROs in informal settings (spring lunchtime visits or open-house events) and prioritize training and relationship-building.
The working group will continue to refine drafts with the Charlottesville Police Department and city attorney; the goal is a final MOU to present in December and signatures thereafter, Dr. Johnson said. The board did not take a final vote on Nov. 6.
