Local officers complete School Resource Officer (SRO) training

A Corbin police officer and two Knox County sheriff’s deputies were among the 30 law enforcement officers, who graduated from the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT)’s third School Resource Officer (SRO) III Training Friday.

Corbin Police Officer James G. Pace and Knox County Sheriff’s deputies Michael D. Broughton and Patrick L. Clouse along with their classmates completed 120 hours of state mandated training over a three-year timeframe (SRO I, SRO II and SRO III), making them fully certified to work in Kentucky’s school systems.

“Ensuring the safety and well-being of Kentucky’s schools is a top priority of my administration,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “I commend you on taking on this responsibility. Thank you for all you do for your agency, school systems and the commonwealth.”

DOCJT’s SRO training targets the specific needs of officers who are assigned to provide safety and security to the students and staff located inside a school.

The SRO courses were revamped after the School Safety and Resilience Act passed in 2019.

The three levels of training are now offered to active, certified law enforcement serving as school resource officers. All SROs must complete the SRO I in-service course within one year of their start date. SRO II and SRO III training courses are required to be completed the following two years as the annual in-service training.

SRO training includes topics, such as working with special-needs students, mental health awareness and trauma-informed action. Firearms and tactics refresher training are also included.