New law strips school police of arrest authority
Harrisburg PA July 15 2019
Effective Aug. 31, newly hired school police officers will no longer have the authority to make arrests, a power held by school police for decades.
The Legislature removed this authority in Senate Bill 621, which was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf and is now Act 67 of 2019. This elimination of power is causing great concern among school officials. Parents and community members worried about the safety of their children and neighborhood schools should share in that concern.
Since 1949, school police officers have had the authority to exercise the same powers as municipal police. They receive the same Act 120 training, and, in fact, many school police officers are retired municipal officers.
School districts have invested large sums of taxpayer dollars in hiring and equipping school police, even more since additional school safety legislation passed in 2018.
School police officers form vital relationships with students and work with school personnel to implement restorative practices, resulting in reduced violence and fewer suspensions. Removing arrest power from school police officers devalues that investment and makes effective school safety more difficult.
While the legislation articulated the training required for school personnel who are authorized to carry a firearm and removed any ambiguity about whether teachers can be armed, it also took arrest power away from trained school police officers.
There was no hearing and no notice. It was passed without input from parents, community members, teachers or school administrators.
The lack of transparency in passing this amendment is suspicious and concerning. The public should be asking who influenced this amendment. What will the impact be on our students and schools? What is the effect of the amendment on the arrest power of school police who were appointed before the legislation passed? Do we now have two sets of police officers with critically different authority?
It is unfortunate that Mr. Wolf chose to sign this bill. While the legislation provided needed clarification and beneficial training requirements, the provision that strips school police of the power to arrest mandated a veto.
