School-Based Complaint/SROs.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 825

Short Title: School-Based Complaint/SROs. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Mohammed (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 23, 2026
*S825-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO DEFINE THE TERM "SCHOOL RESOUR CE OFFICER" AND REQU IRE 2
TRAINING FOR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS AN D TO REQUIRE A SCHOO L 3
ADMINISTRATOR OR SCH OOL SOCIAL WORKER TO SIGN A SCHOOL -BASED 4
COMPLAINT INITIATED BY A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PRIOR TO BEI NG 5
FILED IN JUVENILE COURT. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
SECTION 1.(a) Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 8
adding a new section to read: 9
"§ 115C-105.70. School resource officer. 10
(a) A school resource officer is any law enforcement officer assigned to one or more 11
public schools within a public school unit for at least 20 hours per week for more than 12 weeks 12
per calendar year to assist with all of the following, consistent with any written memorandum of 13
understanding between the public school unit and the law enforcement agency governing the 14
school resource officer: 15
(1) School safety. 16
(2) School security. 17
(3) Emergency preparedness. 18
(4) Emergency response. 19
(5) Any additional responsibilities related to school safety or security assigned by 20
the officer's employer while the officer is acting as a school resource officer. 21
(b) All school resource officers shall comply with initial training standards, as established 22
by subsection (c) of this section, within one year of being assigned as a school resource officer. 23
After initial training, all school resource officer s shall comply with continuing education 24
standards, as established by subsection (c) of this section. 25
(c) The North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission 26
and the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission, in collaboration 27
with the Center for Safer Schools , shall establish initial training and continuing education 28
standards for school resource officers. These standards shall, at a minimum, include training on 29
the following topics: mental health, students with disabilities, racial equity , and crisis 30
intervention and de-escalation." 31
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 17C-6(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 32
"(23) Establish initial training and continuing education training standards for 33
school resource officers, as set forth in G.S. 115C-105.70." 34
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 17E-4(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 825-First Edition
"(19) Establish initial training and continuing education training standards for 1
school resource officers, as set forth in G.S. 115C-105.70." 2
SECTION 1.(d) The North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training 3
Standards Commission and the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards 4
Commission shall establish initial training standards for school resource officers no later than 5
January 15, 2027. 6
SECTION 1.(e) Subsection (a) of this section applies to school resource officers 7
assigned on or after January 1, 2027. All school resource officers assigned before January 1, 8
2027, shall complete initial training no later than December 31, 2027. 9
SECTION 2.(a) Article 18 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes is amended by 10
adding a new section to read: 11
"§ 7B-1802A. School-based complaints. 12
A school-based complaint in which delinquency is alleged to have occurred initiated by a 13
school resource officer, as defined in G.S. 115C-105.70, shall be signed by a school administrator 14
or school social worker prior to being referred in accordance with G.S. 7B-1803 or filed in a 15
court of competent jurisdiction. For the purposes of this section, "a school -based complaint" 16
means a complaint in which delinquency is alleged to have occurred on school grounds, school 17
property, at a school bus stop, or at an off -campus school-sanctioned event, or whose victim is 18
identified as a school." 19
SECTION 2.(b) This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to 20
school-based complaints initiated on or after that date by school resource officers. 21
SECTION 3.(a) The Executive Director of the Center for Safer Schools shall 22
establish the School Resource Officer Critical Needs Grant Program to provide qualifying public 23
school units, as defined in G.S. 143B-1209.101, grants to help alleviate costs incurred by the 24
public school units from any increase in salaries or other pay resulting from the implementation 25
of G.S. 115C-105.70, as enacted by Section 1(a) of this act. The Executive Director of the Center 26
for Safer Schools shall establish guidelines for the disbursal of grants under this section, 27
including a preference for local school administrative units that (i) receive funds under Part A of 28
Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, (ii) are located in a 29
rural area of the State, and (iii) serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade. 30
SECTION 3.(b) Beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, there is appropriated from 31
the General Fund the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in recurring funds to the Center for 32
Safer Schools to use for the School Resource Officer Critical Needs Grant Program established 33
in subsection (a) of this section. 34
SECTION 3.(c) This section becomes effective July 1, 2026. 35
SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 36
law. 37