COLUMBIA, S.C. — News19 reached out to local school districts to ask if there have been any changes to school safety and security requirements (clear backpacks, metal detectors, etc.) for the 2023-2024 school year. We also asked questions about School Resource Officers (SROs):
- are all SRO positions filled within the district?
- how will the SROs be deployed (one in each school, shared SROs, etc.)?
- which law enforcement agency/organization is training/supplying SROs in the district?
Here are some of the responses. News19 will add responses as they come in:
Kershaw County School District
From Rebecca Bean the executive director of communication for the district.
We do have 3 vacancies and interviews are being conducted. However, until they are filled, we have worked with the Kershaw County Sheriff's Department on short term alternatives to provide coverage using off-duty officers, etc.
We assign one SRO per school.
A combination of Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and Camden Police Department. We have a great partnership and working relationship with both agencies
RICHLAND 1
From Ilyssa Weiner, this year, Richland One is moving to Phase Two of its metal detector program. All middle schools will have metal detectors. Our hope is to have them ready by the time school starts. Metal detectors have already been placed in all high schools.
- Are all SRO positions filled within the district?
- Yes
- How will the SROs be deployed (one in each school, shared SROs, etc.)?
- We have SROs for all of our schools.
- Which law enforcement agency/organization is training/supplying SROs in the district?
- The Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the Columbia Police Department
RICHLAND 2
From Greg Turchetta: Our big change is that we will have safety screening stations (metal detectors) at all 5 high schools starting Tuesday, August 8th.
We will continue to use our pop-up safety screening stations at our middle schools. (we did this at middle and high schools last year as a pilot program)
We also have our Crisis Alert badges now deployed to all staff in all schools. This allows them to call for medical help or put the school in lockdown for an emergency. Richland 2 was the first school district in South Carolina to deploy this system back in May.
We utilize Richland County SRO's in our schools.
We have a deputy assigned to each campus and multiple deputies at our high schools.
LEXINGTON 1
Are all SRO positions filled within the district? Yes
How will the SROs be deployed (one in each school, shared SROs, etc.)? at least one assigned to each of our schools
Which law enforcement agency/organization is training/supplying SROs in the district? Town of Lexington Police, Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Pelion Police Department.
LEXINGTON-RICHLAND 5
Laura McElveen: School District Five partners with the Irmo Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department to provide School Resource Officers in each of its schools. School District Five will continue to enforce a clear bag requirement at all sporting events and use the open-gate weapon detection system to screen all visitors coming to our district for school-related activities and athletic events.
One of School District Five’s most valuable resources is the STOPit app, which students can access from their chromebooks or mobile devices. Students can report any threat that they see or hear for further investigation. Reporting is completely anonymous, and the app is monitored 24-hours per day.
