Committee approves measure allowing honorably discharged veterans to serve as school resource officers with training safeguards

The House Education Committee on April 1 voted to report House Bill 682, which would allow honorably discharged veterans to serve as school resource officers under local employment or contract arrangements if they meet specified training, background‑check and certification requirements.

Representative Dickerson, the bill’s sponsor, said veterans offer mentorship and community policing strengths, and the measure is designed to ‘‘free up our police officers who need to be on the streets fighting crime’’ while filling SRO vacancies.

Committee amendments clarified that veterans must meet training requirements established by the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council or an equivalent program approved by BESE, and must complete mandatory‑reporter training. The amendments also made the provision available to charter and nonpublic schools that opt in and specified the veterans be honorably discharged.

Elena Branzera, introduced as a Marine Corps veteran and representative of local mayoral veteran affairs, testified in support, saying the approach ‘‘is a measured step with the right safeguards to fill a real need.’’ Representatives from the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans organizations also endorsed the bill.

A representative from the POST program cautioned that current statute and administrative rules define school resource officers as peace officers with full arrest powers and require two years of law‑enforcement experience; she asked to work with the sponsor to ensure statutory and rule conflicts are resolved.

With amendments adopted to address training and scope, the committee reported HB 682 as amended.