Serving as the police liaison inside schools and intervening in behavioral and criminal incidents, the school resource officer plays a pivotal role in student safety.

Following recent state law changes to school resource officers, an agreement has been achieved between the city of Yorkville and the Yorkville School District 115. The agreement needs to be officially approved by the school board by July 1, when the changes must be implemented.

The Yorkville Police Department currently provides one full-time school resource officer to cover the school district, based mostly at Yorkville High School.

Deputy Chief Garrett Carlyle previously said school resource officers undergo a lot of specialized training to keep current with the best practices in engaging with students.

“Most of the job is about educational relationship building with our students and the school staff, such as safe driving practices, and instructing on the dangers of drugs and alcohol at that young age,” Carlyle said. “The officer steps in if someone brings contraband into school, if a fight breaks out between students, or if there are disciplinary issues that rise to a criminal nature. But mostly, we are building relationships with law enforcement and helping put a face to our department.”

Carlyle said the officer also serves as a liaison between the police department and the schools to promote strong communication to safely handle any potential situation.

The new agreement, submitted to the city by Police Chief James Jensen, was approved by the City Council during its May 12 meeting.

Rapid law enforcement response

Under the new agreement, there is expanded responsibilities for the school resource officer to participate and advise in the school district’s “threat assessment team.”

The crisis response plan includes a layout for law enforcement to rapidly enter school buildings in the event of an emergency, like a school shooter, according to city documents.

Within the agreement, the district and the police department must establish an emergency law enforcement response plan. This involves studying the district’s buildings and conducting training exercises outside of in-session school hours.

“This gives us the opportunity to learn the buildings so our response can be more efficient and thorough,” Jensen said in city documents.

The agreement further states that a student must “not be issued a monetary fine, fee, ticket, or citation as a school-based disciplinary consequence or for a municipal code violation on school grounds during school hours or while taking school transportation.”

However, separate conduct rules apply for responses to “delinquent or criminal conduct” or for traffic violations.

Each month, a district staff member and the student resource officer must meet to review and confirm documentation of any referrals of students provided by the school resource officer to law enforcement.

Students with disabilities

One of the state’s changes is a stronger emphasis on interactions between officers and students with disabilities.

The new statue says specific training must be included on working with students with disabilities to ensure interactions support their educational and behavioral needs. Under the agreement, the city must provide the district proof of certification and renewal.

Jensen said this specific training should be “included in the mandatory training” provided by the state for school resource officers.

“Our current school resource officer has completed the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training, which I believe would cover this,” Jensen said in city documents.

The department’s Crisis Intervention Team was established in 2021. The program trains officers how to approach individuals facing mental health troubles, substance addiction and behavioral health concerns.

It also trains officers in autism awareness, LGBTQI+ assistance, suicide prevention, veterans assistance and senior assistance. The training also focuses on homelessness prevention, street outreach and emergency shelter placement.

Under the agreement, the school resource officer program must be evaluated annually by both the district superintendent and the chief of police in consideration of any necessary changes.