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Bill would clarify that nonpublic schools may contract for SROs after AG opinion raised questions
Summary
Sponsor said Senate Bill 318 would explicitly allow nonpublic (including charter and private) schools to contract with township police departments for school resource officer services after a September 2025 Attorney General opinion questioned that authority; sponsor said the bill is cleanup language, has no state fiscal impact and faces no organized opposition.
Senate Bill 318 would expressly permit nonpublic schools to contract with township police departments for school resource officer services, a sponsor told the Senate Education Committee during the bill's first hearing.
The sponsor said a September 2025 Attorney General opinion left uncertainty about whether the legislature had given explicit authority for township police to enter contracts with nonpublic schools. "This is just some very clean up language and opportunity to expressly give the legislative intent behind that," the sponsor said, arguing the change would allow schools that already pay for SROs to continue those arrangements.
Committee members asked whether any organized opponents had emerged. The sponsor replied that, to date, no opponents had registered and that the measure "is of no fiscal consequence to the state in any way, shape, or form." The sponsor cited Holy Family in Poland Township as a local example where a township police contract is already in place.
The committee did not vote on the bill; the hearing was recorded as the bill's first hearing. The transcript shows lawmakers pressed only clarifying questions about the scope and the local examples rather than new policy changes.
Next steps: The committee concluded the first hearing; the sponsor said they would be available for follow‑up and the bill will be scheduled for future committee action as appropriate.
