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H 5157

An Act relative to safer schools

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Jamie Eldridge and 2 co-sponsors

Transforms school safety by limiting SROs to de-escalation and health supports, boosts data transparency, and funds holistic, non-policing safety practices across districts.

Hearing rescheduled to 05/05/2026 from 01:00 PM-01:15 PM in A-1 and Virtual Hearing updated to New End Time
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Bill Summary · H 5157

Bill Summary – H 5157 (Session 194th) “An Act relative to safer schools” (Massachusetts)

What is the bill trying to do?

  • The bill seeks to reform school safety practices in Massachusetts by reconfiguring the role of police in schools, promoting holistic, non-punitive approaches to school safety, and increasing transparency and data reporting on school policing and incidents involving students.
  • It emphasizes shifting away from traditional police-driven discipline toward de-escalation, mental/behavioral health support, and restorative practices, while preserving emergency-law-enforcement response when needed.

Key provisions and changes

1) Model memorandum of understanding for School Resource Officers (SROs)

  • Replaces the existing paragraph with new language governing SROs.
  • SROs and any special service officers must not:
    • Serve as school disciplinarians or enforcers of school regulations.
    • Act in place of licensed mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors).
  • SRO involvement should be guided by whether conduct meets a criminal/delinquent threshold and could harm people or property.
  • When involved, SRO responses shall be guided by de-escalation techniques and anti-bias training required for certification under §116H of Ch. 6.

2) District-wide deployment and annual reporting on safety resources

  • Requires a police chief to assign at least one SRO to each city/town school, charter, regional district, or county agricultural school, subject to DESE approval and appropriation.
  • For regional/districted schools, the chief of police in the relevant city or town may assign the same SRO to all schools in the locality if applicable.
  • Annual reporting due by July 16 to DESE and publicly to the relevant school committee:
    • Cost of SROs, special service officers, and security staff.
    • Proposed budget for mental, social, or emotional health staff.
    • Data on school-based arrests, citations, court referrals, complaints, field interviews, searches/seizures of students, and other interactions leading to disciplinary action or diversion (disaggregated as required by DESE).
    • Data on school-related reports entered into local law enforcement databases and reports shared with other agencies (e.g., BRIC, fusion centers).
  • Data must be reviewed with the SRO prior to reporting and verified by the officer for the items related to law enforcement interactions.

3) Annual data collection and public transparency

  • DESE must annually collect disaggregated data on school-based arrests, citations, and court referrals from all districts, regardless of SRO presence.
  • DESE will publish the data and identify districts that did not submit data; guidance will be provided to assist districts in data collection.
  • Timelines: districts must submit data from the previous school year by August 1; extensions possible; failure to timely report (without extension) could trigger penalties set by the Board of Education, potentially including forfeiture of state funds.

4) Establishment of holistic school health and safety grants (Chapter 71, new §37S)

  • Creates a grant program (one- or two-year grants) for districts/schools to transition to or implement holistic health and safety practices that do not rely on police presence.
  • Eligible activities include:
    • Advisory groups and relationship-building initiatives.
    • Programs to counter harassment and bias (racial, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.).
    • Restorative justice practices and related conflict resolution.
    • Staffing transitions for arrivals/dismissals to emphasize de-escalation and community ties.
  • Eligible uses of grant funds include:
    • Implementing holistic practices, hiring/training staff (e.g., licensed clinical social workers), forming safety teams, training the school community, evaluating impact, and planning to realize cost savings from reduced policing.
  • Prohibitions: no use of funds for metal detectors, weapons, surveillance tech, or hiring/paying for school-based security personnel during the grant term.
  • Eligibility and priority:
    • Districts may apply whether or not they currently employ SROs, but grants are not available to districts intending to maintain police presence beyond the transition year.
    • Competitive preference given to applicants with higher percentages of low-income students.
  • Application and reporting:
    • DESE to set application requirements, including three years of prior data on school-based policing and cost data for security personnel and funding sources.
    • Recipients must report on the grant’s impact and describe any cost-saving measures.
  • DESE as repository and support:
    • Establishes a community of practice for grantees and interested schools/districts to share best practices.

Who would be affected?

  • School districts, regional school districts, Commonwealth charter schools, and county agricultural schools in Massachusetts.
  • Local police departments and city/town chiefs of police responsible for SRO deployment.
  • School administrators, school committees, students, parents, and educators involved in safety planning and crisis response.
  • DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) for data collection, monitoring, and grant administration.
  • Public and state-level data users who access school safety and policing data.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Reporting: Annual reporting by districts due by July 16 for SRO costs and safety data; reporting on data quality and related metrics.
  • Data submission: Districts must submit prior-year data by August 1; extensions possible; penalties may apply if reports are late without approved extensions.
  • Grants: Grants for holistic safety practices to be set up subject to appropriation; applications will require three years of policing data and cost information.
  • Data transparency: DESE to publish reported data and identify noncompliant districts; a public-facing transparency objective underlines the bill’s purpose.

Overall impact

  • Reduces the role of school-based police in routine discipline and emphasizes non-punitive, preventive approaches to safety.
  • Creates a structured framework for phasing in SROs only where appropriate, with strong emphasis on de-escalation, mental health supports, and restorative practices.
  • Improves transparency around school policing and safety spending, with penalties intended to encourage timely data reporting.
  • Provides funding pathways to transition schools away from policing toward holistic safety cultures, while prohibiting certain policing-related expenditures during grant terms.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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