Summary: House Bill 4228 (HB 4228)
Overview
House Bill 4228 would amend the Revised School Code to add a new Section 1308f. The bill requires the Department of State Police (MSP) and the Office of School Safety within MSP to develop school safety and security training materials and provide annual training on specified topics. It also requires the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and the Department of the Attorney General (AG) to develop training materials and provide annual training on their respective topics. The trainings would be provided to school resource officers (SROs), school safety or security personnel, and all school staff in both public and nonpublic schools.
Purpose and Intent
- Strengthen school safety by formalizing and standardizing ongoing training across MSP, MDE, and the AG.
- Enhance threat assessment, violence prevention, and incident response capabilities in schools.
- Ensure alignment with best practices for law enforcement in school settings and for school staff handling safety, mental health, and mandatory reporting obligations.
Key Provisions
1) Department of State Police and Office of School Safety (Sec. 1308f(1))
Training topics for School Resource Officers (SROs):
- Position-specific training beyond initial officer training.
- An operational guide for targeted violence prevention plans and threat assessments (NTAC guidance from the U.S. Secret Service).
- Target hardening.
- Familiarity with law enforcement response to school emergencies.
- OK2Say confidential tip line process (or successor program).
- Emergency operations plans and emergency response procedures.
- Incident command systems.
Training topics for all SROs placed in public/nonpublic schools, school safety/security personnel, and all school staff:
- Communication skills.
- De-escalation tactics and techniques.
- Physical controls for K–12 settings.
- Cultural competence.
- Mandatory reporting protocols.
- Crisis intervention and prevention.
- Mental health services.
2) Michigan Department of Education (Sec. 1308f(2))
Training topics for all school personnel (SROs, safety staff, and all staff):
- Communication skills.
- De-escalation techniques.
- Physical controls for K–12.
- Cultural competence.
- Mandatory reporting protocols.
- Crisis intervention and prevention.
- Mental health services.
3) Department of the Attorney General (Sec. 1308f(3))
Training topics for all SROs and security personnel:
- Legal updates to clarify authority and limits in the school environment.
- Legal authority and limitations of security personnel not licensed under the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES).
Who is Affected
- School Resource Officers (SROs) in public and nonpublic schools.
- School safety or security personnel working at or for public or nonpublic schools.
- All school staff in public and nonpublic schools.
- School districts, public school academies, and intermediate school districts (indirectly via required trainings).
Fiscal and Administrative Implications
- MSP: Indeterminate fiscal impact. Costs depend on whether new materials/training are created or updated. Existing MSP resources and programs related to school safety may mitigate new costs.
- AG: Potentially substantial costs for developing and delivering training, staff time, tracking compliance, and maintaining rosters of SROs. Could require hiring dedicated staff; cost estimates range with hours, modality (in-person, remote, online modules), and duration. Historical benchmarks suggest costs could be comparable to or greater than existing state-level law enforcement training programs.
- MDE: Likely requires additional staffing and funding; the department indicated this would fall outside current scope of work.
- Local entities (districts, public school academies, intermediate districts): No direct fiscal impact expected from the bill, though districts would bear indirect costs related to time for staff to participate in trainings.
Procedural History and Timeline
- Introduced: March 10, 2025 by Rep. Carol Glanville.
- Electronically reproduced: March 12, 2025.
- Referenced: Committee on Education and Workforce (03/12/2025).
- Legislative actions noted:
- Read first time: 03/31/2025.
- Referred to Elections: 03/31/2025 (administrative note; main referral remains Education and Workforce).
- Filed: 03/10/2025.
Why It Matters
The bill seeks to formalize and standardize comprehensive training across multiple state agencies to improve school safety culture, threat assessment, emergency response, and mental health supports. By involving MSP, MDE, and AG, the measure aims to provide consistent, ongoing education for those directly involved with school safety and for all school staff. The effectiveness would hinge on implementation details, funding availability, and ongoing compliance monitoring.
