School resource officers in Maryland may soon only enter schools mainly during an emergency – a plan the bill sponsor says will help minority students feel more comfortable, but police say presents safety concerns.
SB0245, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Ellis, D-Charles, establishes numerous restrictions on school resource officers in what he told Capital News Service is a plan to ensure students, especially those of color, feel more comfortable at school.
School resource officers are career law enforcement officers assigned to specific schools for protection and community-oriented policing, according to the National Association of School Resource Officers. (https://www.nasro.org/faq/)
The Maryland Safe to Learn Act of 2018 required schools to prove they either have a designated school resource officer or “adequate local law enforcement coverage.”
This year’s bill establishes guidelines prohibiting school resource officers from entering schools “except under certain circumstances.” (http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0245?ys2021RS)
Ellis said the allowed circumstances of entering the school would primarily entail emergencies or routine uses such as the restroom, under the proposed law.
The bill also requires that school officers wear street clothes rather than a police uniform, while concealing their firearm unless needed.
Feel good, color, chit. I had to stop reading by the time I got to conceal a weapon and plain clothes. What about the people that don’t have color. How do the pale faces feel about this. Probably feel a uniformed officer should sit at each teachers desk because they feel a person of color may feel like a day of disruption. Why you axe? Because I feel they can’t be domesticated or control themselves for the most part. There are hard working honest law abiding people of color so this is not aimed at all, just a lot. A weapon is part of a police officers assigned equipment. You stupid liberal law makers don’t want our students or teachers safe, but hold military hostage camped out at your work place because you feel orange man may return. What at bunch of nut jobs. That is just my “feelings”. Feelings and color, the hell with our real concerns in this country right now. That’s all, I will go control my blood pressure and feelings now.
Teach your children to respect law enforcement, not that they are trying to kill you… problem 99.9 percent solved. Teach your children that they can’t do anything they want, and need to work to achieve something, that they don’t deserve a trophy for nothing…the vast majority of police are honest, hard working and willing to lay down their life for ungrateful people that don’t deserve them. They want to go home to their families when their shift is over, like everyone else does. Just like every profession, there’s always one that’s a bad apple, maybe they were bullied as a kid, and they take it out on others…look at the crappy teachers, politicians, doctors etc. There’s always few bad ones… don’t demonize all based on the actions of a few. And by the way, more white and hispanic people are killed by police than black people each year. Just to piss off anybody I may have missed.. ALL LIVES MATTER.