RELATES TO:
KRS
158.441,
158.4410,
158.4414,
158.443
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
158.4410 requires the Office of the State
School Security Marshal to monitor school safety and security initiatives, to
conduct on-site reviews required for completion of the school security risk
assessment tool incorporated by reference in
702 KAR 1:180, and to conduct
school safety and security training.
KRS
158.4414(2) requires a local
board of education to obtain written approval from the State School Security
Marshal if sufficient funds and qualified personnel are not available for
assignment of a school resource officer to every campus in the district.
KRS
15A.160 authorizes the secretary of the
cabinet to adopt administrative regulations to administer the cabinet, and
KRS
15A.070(5) authorizes the
commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training to promulgate
administrative regulations. This administrative regulation establishes
requirements for conducting on-site reviews for completion of the school
security risk assessment tool, monitoring school safety, and conducting related
training. This administrative regulation also establishes the written approval
process if sufficient funds and qualified personnel are not available for
assignment of a school resource officer to every campus.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Compliance officer" means the person
assigned by the OSSSM to conduct an on-site review for risk assessment of a
school campus.
(2) "Office of the
State School Security Marshal" or "OSSSM" means the office established by
KRS
158.4410(1) that is managed
by the State School Security Marshal.
(3) "School campus" means all areas,
including school buildings where instruction and school activities take place
during the regular school day, and properties adjacent to the buildings, that
are under the control of the school district and accessible to students during
the school day, including the following:
(a) A
single building located on real property owned or leased by a school district
for instruction to students and school activities during the regular school day
on a continuous basis, including extracurricular activities; or
(b) Two or more school buildings located on
real property owned or leased by a school district to deliver instruction to
students on a continuous basis or conduct extracurricular activities.
(4) "School resource officer" or
"SRO" is defined by KRS
158.441(5).
(5) "School safety coordinator" or "SSC"
means a district employee appointed by the local school district superintendent
to serve as the school district's school safety coordinator and primary point
of contact for public school safety and security functions.
(6) "School security risk assessment tool"
means the assessment tool developed by the State School Security Marshal
pursuant to
KRS
158.4410(5), approved by the
board of directors for the Center for School Safety pursuant to
KRS
158.443(9)(b), and
incorporated by reference in
702 KAR 1:180.
(7) "State School Security Marshal" or "SSSM"
means the person appointed by the commissioner of the Department of Criminal
Justice Training pursuant to
KRS
158.4410(3) who also acts as
the manager of the OSSSM.
Section
2. OSSSM Review of Risk Assessment.
(1) The OSSSM shall assign a compliance
officer to conduct an on-site review for risk assessment of the following:
(a) All school campuses of district operated
schools on district owned or leased property under the administrative control
of a principal or head teacher; and
(b) Any school campus of a district or state
operated school on district owned or leased property with:
1. Career and technical education;
2. Special education program;
3. Preschool program; or
4. Alternative education program.
(2) The OSSSM shall
consider the following factors in determining whether school buildings are a
single school campus or multiple school campuses:
(a) Whether the buildings:
1. Are connected by a sidewalk or a parking
lot;
2. Are within a reasonable
walking distance of each other; or
3. Are not separated by a physical barrier,
including a fence, wall, waterway, roadway, or other obstruction, that prevents
ready access from one building to another; or
(b) Other indices that the buildings
constitute a single school campus or multiple school campuses.
(3) The OSSSM shall maintain a
list of school campuses based on subsections (1) and (2) of this
section.
(4) If the school district
disagrees with the designation of a school campus in its district, it may
appeal the school campus decision to the OSSSM by sending a written objection
with an explanation of why the buildings should be considered to be a single
school campus or multiple school campuses to the OSSSM. The OSSSM:
(a) May request additional information from
the school district;
(b) Shall
consider the information provided by the school district;
(c) Shall make a determination concerning the
school district objection; and
(d)
Shall provide a written decision to the appropriate SSC.
(5) The OSSSM may conduct training on the
school security risk assessment tool and the School Safety and Resiliency Act
for:
(a) Superintendents;
(b) District school safety
coordinators;
(c) District-level
school staff;
(d) School resource
officers; and
(e) Other trainings
as necessary to enhance school safety.
Section 3. On-site Review of the School
Security Risk Assessment Tool.
(1) An OSSSM
compliance officer shall conduct an on-site review for risk assessment of a
school campus.
(2) The on-site
review visit shall be:
(a) Unannounced;
and
(b) Conducted during the school
day, but not be started within two (2) hours of the end of the school
day.
(3) The compliance
officer shall wear an issued or OSSSM approved uniform when conducting on site
reviews.
(4) The compliance officer
may stop the on-site review and assessment if the school does not cooperate
with the on-site review and assessment process or circumvents the process. If
the on-site review and assessment is stopped, the school campus shall be deemed
out of compliance.
(5) After
on-site review and completion of the assessment, the assessment shall be
emailed to the appropriate district SSC. If required by the district, the SSC
shall be responsible for forwarding the assessment to other district
personnel.
Section 4.
Closed and Locked-door Exemption for Risk Assessment.
(1) Closed and locked-door exemption
applications located within the school security risk assessment tool shall be
completed onsite, or upon request by the school for the exemption, by the
assigned compliance officer and forwarded to the State School Security Marshal
for review.
(2) Exemption
determinations shall be made on a case-by-case basis. The basis for an
exemption shall include the following:
(a) A
physical mechanism does not exist to secure the room. Examples may include a
gymnasium with multiple doors or an open-air classroom;
(b) The room is used as a hallway, walkway,
pathway, or easement to access another part of the building and a less
restrictive alternative does not exist for access;
(c)
1.
Locking the door to the room would:
a. Violate
an existing fire code;
b. Infringe
upon an individual student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) if that student is
physically present in the room; or
c. Violate the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA); and
2. A less
restrictive alternative for access is not available;
(d) Existing renovations or physical
structure issues within the building make locking the doors to the room
impracticable and a less restrictive alternative does not exist; or
(e) Other reasonable grounds exist to grant
an exemption.
(3)
Approved closed and locked-door exemptions shall be valid for the school year
in which the exemption was granted and shall expire on the 30th day of
June.
(4) On or before June 1 of
each year, and prior to the expiration of an approved closed and locked-door
exemption on June 30th, a new application for an exemption shall be completed
if an exemption remains necessary for the upcoming school year.
(5) Closed and locked-door exemption
applications shall be reviewed by the State School Security Marshal for
approval or disapproval.
Section
5. Noncompliant School Campus.
(1) The OSSSM shall notify an SSC of the
reasons for a finding of noncompliance.
(2) After being determined to be
noncompliant, a school campus shall take steps to remediate the identified
problems and notify the OSSSM upon completion of the remediation.
(3) A school campus determined to be
noncompliant shall be reassessed a minimum of one (1) time within the current
school year using the school security risk assessment tool.
Section 6. SSSM Written Approval
for Local Board of Education Noncompliance with Assignment of an SRO to Each
Campus in the Local School District as Required Pursuant to
KRS
158.4414(2).
(1) When sufficient funds and qualified
personnel are not available to allow an SRO to be assigned to and working
on-site full-time at each campus in a local school district, the local board of
education shall request in writing for written approval from the SSSM
permitting the district's noncompliance with
KRS
158.4414(2).
(a) To receive written approval from the
SSSM, the local board of education shall aver, in writing, that sufficient
funds and qualified personnel are not available to allow an SRO to be assigned
to and working on-site full-time at each campus in the local school
district.
(b) Upon receipt of a
request for approval from a local board of education, the SSSM:
1. May request additional information or
records from the local board of education;
2. Shall consider the local board of
education's averment and other information, if any other information is
requested by the SSSM;
3. Shall
make a determination concerning the request; and
4. Shall provide a written approval or
disapproval decision to the local board of education.
(2) The SSSM shall maintain a list
of written approvals of requests granted pursuant to this section. The list
shall be updated if the results of an on-site review of a risk assessment of a
campus indicate an SRO has been assigned to and working on-site full-time at
the campus.
Section 7.
Commendation.
(1) The OSSSM may award a
Certificate of Commendation to an individual, school, or district in
recognition of an exemplary contribution to school safety within a school
district or with statewide implications.
(2) A school or district may recommend an
individual for this award by providing a written letter of recommendation to
the OSSSM.
Section 8.
Complaint Process.
(1) If the OSSSM receives a
complaint regarding a school campus, OSSSM personnel, or other item related to
the mission of the OSSSM, the process shall be as follows:
(a) An OSSSM supervisor shall review and
require an investigation of the complaint; and
(b) The investigation shall be reviewed by
the State School Security Marshal.
(2) After review by the State School Security
Marshal:
(a) If the complaint is found to be
substantiated and results in a school campus being out of compliance with
KRS
158.4410(5) or
KRS
158.162(3)(d), the OSSSM
shall update the school's security risk assessment tool to reflect the school
campus being out of compliance and notify the appropriate SSC; or
(b) If the complaint involves OSSSM personnel
or other item related to the mission of the OSSSM, the State School Security
Marshal shall send a written response to the
complainant.
Section
9. Written submissions or notifications to the OSSSM. A written
submission or notification to the State School Security Marshal or OSSSM shall
be made by sending the writing to:
(1) 4449
Kit Carson Drive, Richmond, Kentucky 40475; or
(2)
stateschoolmarshal@ky.gov.