State Releases Annual School Safety Risk Assessment Report
On August 22, the Office of the State School Security Marshal released the annual School Safety Risk Assessment Report, which shows 99% of Kentucky’s schools are in compliance with access control security requirements. The release of this report follows the Governor’s announcement Aug. 10 that there are more school resource officers (SROs) employed by Kentucky schools than ever before.
Using $18.2 million in funding included by Gov. Beshear in the 2020 state budget, public schools have been able to increase security measures to achieve nearly 100% compliance with state-mandated requirements.
The report shows that there are 685 SROs employed by Kentucky public schools, which is the most in state history. Additionally, since the passage of the School Safety and Resiliency Act in 2019, the number of full-time SROs has increased by 66%. Since the beginning of last school year alone, there has been a 33% increase in schools with a full-time SRO on campus, and the number is expected to continue to rise during the school year.
“This report is encouraging, and we have made incredible strides in improving school safety – but we will always have more work to do,” said Gov. Beshear. “As a dad of children in public schools, I am truly grateful for the work being done by our law enforcement and State School Security Marshal Ben Wilcox to help keep our children safe.”
The Office of the State School Security Marshal (OSSSM), is required by law to issue this report after compliance officers conduct annual unannounced visits to all public schools. Compliance officers verify compliance with state-mandated security measures and SRO requirements, including access control requirements, surveillance, locked classroom doors, classroom-window covering and a threat-assessment team.
“I am proud to report that Kentucky’s schools have increased their safety measures and response,” State School Security Marshal Ben Wilcox said. “There is always room for improvement, and my office will continue to work diligently this upcoming school year to make sure schools have the resources, training and equipment needed to not only be safe but stay safe.”
Kentuckians are encouraged to report information that may cause harm to schools to the STOP! Tipline at 866-393-6659 or safeschools.ky.gov. For additional resources on how to further protect children, watch this video on the Handle with Care Program.
Since taking office at the end of 2019, the Beshear-Coleman administration has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the safety of Kentucky’s children while on campus and in the classroom.
The Governor’s proposed public safety budget plan includes raising the current $4,300 law enforcement training stipend to an all-time high of $4,800 – which SROs are eligible to receive – and providing grant funding to upgrade body armor to protect local law enforcement officers.
The plan also restores all statewide law enforcement pension plans back to defined benefits pensions (State Police, County Employees-Hazardous, Kentucky Employees-Hazardous), increasing pension income for retired Kentucky State Police troopers and local jurisdictions in those pension plans. Better pension benefits are needed to improve both the recruitment and retention of our front-line public safety employees.
Last month, the Governor broke ground on the Jody Cash Multipurpose Training Facility. The new facility will be a 42,794-square-foot facility with a 50-yard, 30-lane firing range designed for officers to learn intensive and specialized training. Kentucky’s law enforcement officers – including SROs – will use this space upon its completion.
In 2022, the Governor signed House Bill 63 requiring all public schools to have an SRO per campus as funding and personnel allowed. He then built on that bill in March of this year by signing House Bill 540, which expanded the definitions related to the use of SROs to apply to private or parochial schools as well as public schools, creating consistency of expectations across different types of schools.
