School Resource Officer

JOB TITLE: School Resource Officer

FLSA CLASSIFICATION: Non-exempt, hourly employee.

WORK DAYS: 246 days per year (including paid holidays and paid vacation time),

with the possibility of additional work on weekends or double-shifts.

STANDARD HOURS PER DAY: 8 hours per day (NOT including a 30-minute unpaid duty-free meal break).

WORK YEAR: The work year for the School Resource Officer begins on the first weekday in July, and ends 12 months later on the last weekday in June.

SALARY SCHEDULE & BENEFITS: The School Resource Officer is paid on the “School Police” salary schedule, and is eligible for benefits on the “Support Staff” benefits schedule.

REPORTS TO: The School Resource Officer reports directly to the Chief of Warren Police.

SUPERVISES: The School Resource Officer does not directly supervise any other employee(s).

General Description Of Duties

The School Resource Officer (SRO) operates within the framework of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) Triad Model, which encompasses three primary roles: law enforcement officer, law-related educator, and informal counselor. Under the direction of the Chief of Police, the SRO is dedicated to providing security, environmental safety, and creating a Culture of Safety across assigned school district locations. The SRO will follow the MSD of Warren Board of Education policy and the Warren Police Department Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). SROs will be assigned as needed throughout the District.

Essential Functions

Law Enforcement Role:

• Responds to emergencies and critical incidents such as fire alarms, medical emergencies, altercations, threats of violence, etc., to confine, resolve, or prevent injury or hazardous situations.
• Ensures compliance with mandatory reporting laws regarding suspected abuse or neglect, following proper protocols to protect students.
• Performs investigative activities in response to complaints, incidents, accidents, or other reported concerns, including auto accidents, illness or injury, and missing students.
• Implements strategies to prevent crime and minimize risks within the school environment.
• Educates and enforces applicable laws, ensuring compliance with constitutional, federal, state, local, and district regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Trained to respond with appropriate force in critical situations while prioritizing de-escalation and safety.
• Regularly patrols school grounds and district facilities to monitor for suspicious activity and ensure the safety of students and staff.
• Collaborates with building staff to identify needs and provide support through regular meetings with school leadership, including principals and assistant principals, to discuss safety concerns, school climate, and student behavior trends.
• Works with administrators to assess and respond to critical incidents involving students, staff, or visitors, including disciplinary actions when necessary.
• Collaborates with and supports the lead school administrator in areas specified in the Memorandum of Agreement.
• Acts as an advocate for students navigating the juvenile justice system, providing support and resources.
• Advocates for design strategies that enhance safety and deter criminal activity within school facilities.
• Inspects suspicious packages and designated areas for suspicious devices prior to meetings; monitors board meetings.
• Utilizes effective techniques for interviewing individuals involved in incidents or investigations.
• Records various information about security and monitoring activities, including daily activities, incident reports, maintenance requests, and sign-in logs.
• Provides supervision and security for school, district, and community-sponsored events.
• Works with local law enforcement and administrators to follow up on legal or criminal matters that affect the school community.
• Conducts security checks of facilities and perimeter grounds for the purpose of identifying and resolving any suspected or real security breaches or violations.
  
  

Public Safety Educator

• Educates students and staff on crime prevention strategies, safe practices for social media use and its impact on personal safety, laws that affect students, proper procedures during traffic stops, and safe driving practices, emphasizing responsible behavior behind the wheel and promoting understanding and compliance.
• Discusses comprehensive safety measures and protocols to ensure a secure school environment.
• Provides training, guidance, and instruction to other district safety personnel.
• Maintains security and environmental safekeeping of the assigned district location; monitors weather stations and scanning radios.
• Keeps up to date on current technology, as job appropriate, being used by the district.
• With support of the district, attends training to ensure skill level in various technologies is at the level required to perform in current position.
• Provides awareness and resources related to victimization and how to seek help.
• Introduces students to potential career paths within law enforcement, including necessary education and skills.
• Facilitates discussions on effective decision-making skills, emphasizing the consequences of choices.
  
  

Informal Counselor/Mentor

• Mentoring: Provides guidance and support to students, helping them navigate personal and academic challenges.
• Trauma-Informed Care: Recognizes the impact of trauma on students and provides appropriate support and resources.
• Social and Emotional Development: Supports students in developing skills for managing emotions and building relationships.
• Resiliency Overall Wellness: Teaches students to bounce back from setbacks and develop coping strategies.
• Improving Youth Decision-Making Skills: Guides students in making informed choices and understanding consequences.
• Empowering Youth: Encourages students to take leadership roles and make positive choices.
• Crime Prevention: Engages with students and the community to promote awareness and prevention strategies.
• Supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Advocates for an inclusive environment that respects and values diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• Adolescent Brain Development: Educates students and staff about the changes occurring during adolescence and their impacts on behavior.
• May provide escort or transport of various persons, i.e., personnel leaving after hours, truant students, sick or injured persons, visitors.
• Assists persons with vehicle problems, such as having locked keys inside their cars or dead batteries.
  
  

Entry-level Requirements

• EDUCATION/TRAINING: High school diploma or GED is required. Satisfactory completion of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) training program is preferred or sworn designation from a state certified Safety Department and satisfactory completion of first aid and CPR/AED training.
• EXPERIENCE: A minimum three years of Police, military or law enforcement experience, with demonstrated investigative and interpersonal communication skills for addressing potentially hazardous circumstances is required.
• CERTIFICATIONS &/OR LICENSES: Eligible for designation as a “Special Deputy” by the Marion County Sheriff is required. Ability to obtain and maintain a valid state driver’s license is required.
• OTHER: Ability to perform the essential functions, meet the performance aptitudes, and fulfill the physical/sensory/environmental requirements of the job (with or without reasonable accommodations) is required.
  
  

Performance Aptitudes

• Data Utilization: Requires the ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data and/or information using established criteria. Includes exercise of discretion in determining actual or probable consequences, and in referencing such evaluation to identify and select alternatives.
• Human Interaction: Requires the ability to provide guidance, assistance, and/or interpretation to others on how to apply procedures and standards to specific situations.
• Equipment, Machinery, Tools, and Materials Utilization: Requires the ability to operate standard radio communication equipment, standard office equipment, and assigned motorized security vehicle.
• Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, and advisory data and information.
• Mathematical Aptitude: Requires the ability to perform addition, subtraction multiplication and division.
• Functional Reasoning: Requires the ability to apply principles of influence systems, such as motivation, incentive, and leadership. Ability to exercise independent judgment to apply facts and principles for developing approaches and techniques to problem resolution.
• Situational Reasoning: Requires the ability to exercise the judgment, decisiveness and creativity required in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory, judgmental, or subjective criteria, as opposed to that which is clearly measurable or verifiable.
  
  

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Some tasks may involve the ability to exert extreme physical effort in very heavy work, typically involving some combination of climbing and balancing, stooping kneeling, crouching, and crawling, and the lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling of objects and materials in excess of 100 pounds, such as when transporting sick or injured persons. The School Resource Officer is expected to routinely and continuously (through the entire time on duty) wear a bulletproof vest and utility belt with radios, telephone and pager, gun and ammunition, handcuffs, and other equipment.

SENSORY REQUIREMENTS: Most tasks require visual perception and discrimination. Some tasks require oral communications ability. Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Tasks are regularly performed with some risk of exposure to adverse environmental conditions, such as dust, humidity, rain, temperature extremes, traffic hazards, and violence.