North Penn board tables proposal to create sworn school police force after students, parents urge delay

North Penn School District officials on Tuesday presented a proposal to reorganize the Office of Emergency Management and Safe Schools into a Department of Public Safety that would include sworn school police officers, then the board voted 8–1 to table the plan after students and community members urged delay and broader input.

Superintendent Dr. Bauer opened the work session by explaining the administration’s recommendation to move from the current safe-schools office to a department that would allow the district to petition the Court of Common Pleas to grant selected district employees police powers, including the authority to issue citations, effect arrests and carry firearms on duty. Presenter Brandon Roan told the board the model aims to combine seven layers of school safety—culture and prevention, physical security, operations, training, technology, response and recovery—with on-site sworn officers for consistency and…