SB 1355: School safety: school security departments: contracted private licensed security agencies.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district and to employ personnel to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils, as provided. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to contract with a private licensed security agency to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils and the security of the real and personal property of the school district when the personnel normally required to provide those services fail to do so because of an emergency or when such an emergency necessitates additional security services, as provided.

This bill would require the governing board of a school district that establishes a security department, and the governing board or body of a local educational agency, as defined, that enters into a contract on or after January 1, 2027, with a private licensed security agency to provide school security services, to (1) specify the parameters on the use of weapons, including, but not limited to, handcuffs, pepper spray, batons, and firearms, on a school campus and (2) specify the roles and responsibilities of school administrators, school security department personnel, and contracted school security officers for purposes of ensuring the safety of personnel and pupils, consistent with assigning school administrators primary responsibility for deescalation.