ANNAPOLIS, Md. -– Police reform has been a top priority of Maryland Democrats during the 2021 Legislative Session. One area of reform that is being examined by legislators is potentially instituting new regulations on school resource officers (SRO’s) throughout the state.

One example comes in Senate Bill 245, sponsored by State Senator Arthur Ellis [D-Charles County]. The bill would enact new rules on SRO’s by amending parts of the 2018 “Safe to Learn Act.” Some new restrictions include prohibiting officers from engaging in the regular discipline of students, concealment of firearms, wearing civilian clothes, and mandating tighter restrictions on when on-duty SRO’s may enter schools.

House Bill 1089 was also introduced during this session, and it goes a step further. This bill would prohibit law enforcement with the power to arrest students from schools across the state and prohibit state funding for SRO programs. Instead, the bill proposes adding $10 million to the Maryland general fund to pay for additional mental and behavioral health services for school districts while replacing SRO’s with unarmed security personnel who do not have the power to make arrests.

Ellis justified his motivations for introducing SB 245 saying, “to be honest, our society is traumatized by police violence”, speaking on the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor last year.

“This SRO bill was meant to address that school is a place where children go to learn,” Ellis said. “Not to be patrolled, not to be traumatized, and not to be affected by all these outward problems of society.”

SRO’s have become a regular aspect of many school districts throughout the state. As of 2020, there were 429 school resource officers in the state, and 328 schools had full-time officers assigned to them. Many who champion SRO programs claim that they have become assets to not only school safety but the community.

St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron at a press conference following the 2018 Great Mills High School Shooting. (2018)

“They are not just a police officer in a school, but they are trained to be mentors and coaches, and even teaching some instructional components in schools,” St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said. “Their role is not just to be our security, but to be a viable member of the school staff and administration.”

Cameron held a firm stance against any of the proposed legislation that would impact SRO programs.

“I absolutely oppose any and all bills that are proposed thus far on school resource officers… there are so many advantages of having an SRO in your school. They’re not armed security guards, they’re part of the instructional staff, they’re part of the school’s administration, they’re designed to be a resource for the school,” Cameron said. “They cannot effectively respond, communicate, mentor, coach, or be a good example for anybody outside of a school building. That’s absurd.”

St. Mary’s County has a unique relationship with SRO’s. In 2018, a shooting at Great Mills High School(GMHS) left 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey fatally wounded, and one other student injured. A school resource officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, responded to the scene and exchanged fire with the boy before the shooter took his own life.

Gaskill’s actions have been credited as helping to end the shooting and potentially preventing additional tragedy. Governor Larry Hogan[R] presented the officer with an “Award of Valor,” and pointed to this case as a reason to increase funding for SRO programs throughout the state.

School resource officer Blaine Gaskill. (2018)

Now, Melissa Willey, the mother of Jaelynn Willey, is uniquely positioned to discuss SRO’s and what she feels their role is within schools.

“Do I think that [SRO’s] should be in schools? I do,” Willey said. “I think that there should be some training, that doesn’t necessarily always have to be police, where it should be like, more mental health staff for students and for the police officers. I do not think taking police officers out of schools is a fabulous idea. I just don’t.”

When it comes to an SRO’s ability to prevent violence in schools, she had more mixed feelings in regards to her personal experience.

“I guess in Jaelynn’s situation, it was potentially helpful,” Willey explained. “I don’t mean helpful… a distraction maybe. But I do think it was a deterrent. Maybe? I mean, I wasn’t standing there… I have also heard the other side of it where you know, it could be a danger. A child could potentially grab their gun if they’re close range, and take it and shoot.”

Instances like the GMHS shooting and other instances of gun violence have been massive factors pushing for the expansion and preservation of SRO programs. But to fully understand the context of the bill, one might look beyond St. Mary’s County.

SB 245 has come as part of wave police reform measures that have been championed by the democratic majority in Annapolis in 2021. Issues of “systematic racism” in the criminal justice system have been at the heart of several bills, and these SRO restrictions are certainly no exception.

The main regulatory agency that manages SRO’s through the state is the Maryland Center School Safety, which was established in 2013. In 2018, the “Safe to Learn Act” was passed into law, which created new mandates for the center to included tracking use-of-force instances among SRO’s against students. In 2020, there were a total of 69 reported instances, with 49 of those being against black students.

When asked about the role race plays in the push to regulate SRO’s, Ellis said, “SRO’s came about because of all the mass shootings we’ve had since Columbine, and all the way down to Florida, and St. Mary’s County.”

“The vast majority of those shooters, it’s in majority-white schools, and most of the shooters, the vast majority have been white males,” Ellis continued. “You know, the majority of the adverse actions are directed at African-Americans.”

Statements made by Ellis highlight the different kinds of roles that SRO’s play in schools across the state. Ellis continued by saying, “SRO police officers should not be involved in the routine discipline in a school. Right now, a lot of principals are using them for routine discipline.”

In one argument made for keeping SRO’s in schools, Willey said what echoes the sentiments of what many parents have said about this issue.

“I just want my kids safe,” Willey said. “All of them… and maybe that SRO can help facilitate that to a small extent, at least.”

Whether or not any charges against SRO’s will move forward is still unclear. The General Assembly struck down an amendment from Gabriel Acevero [D-Montgomery County] during a heated debate on police reform last week, which would have essentially mimicked SB245. That amendment was struck down by a wide margin of 124-4. Once bills crossover from the Senate to House on March 22, it will be clear if there is movement on this front.

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Contact Tyler at tylerchesser@thebaynet.com