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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
juveniles; temporary custody; parental notification
Purpose
Requires, effective July 1, 2026, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to create a training program for law enforcement officers and security personnel who are employed by an Arizona school district.
Background
The School Safety Program is established within ADE to support educational environments in a variety of ways, including by supporting the costs of placing school resource officers. The School Safety Program is a state-funded grant that runs in 3-year cycles. ADE must review and administer school resource officer program proposals in cooperation with the courts, law enforcement agencies and law-related education providers. The School Safety Program prescribes annual training requirements for schools receiving funding for school resource officers and school safety officers (A.R.S. § 15-154; ADE) .
A peace officer who takes a juvenile into temporary custody must make a good faith effort to notify the juvenile's parents, guardian or custodian of the juvenile's custody unless doing so would pose a risk to the juvenile. If the juvenile is a ward of the state, the peace office must notify the Department of Child Safety (DCS). DCS must notify the applicable public defender, any guardian ad litem or a court appointed special advocate of the juvenile's custody (A.R.S. § 8-303).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires ADE to establish a training program for law enforcement officers and security personnel who are employed by a school district or charter school.
2. Requires ADE to provide a certificate of completion to each individual who completes the training program.
3. Requires each school district in Arizona to mandate the completion of the training program within one month after any law enforcement officer or security personnel beings working for the school district.
4. Specifies that an individual is not required to complete the training program if the individual submits to the school district a valid certificate of completion that was issued less than 2 years before the date on which the individual begins working for the school district.
5. Allows a school district to terminate an employee or contractor who fails to complete the established training program.
6. Allows a charter school to choose to require a law enforcement officer or security officer employed by the charter school, including employment through a third-party contractor, to complete the established training program.
7. Requires, if a peace officer takes a juvenile into temporary custody on school property, an employee of the school to immediately notify the juvenile's parents, guardian or custodian of the juvenile's custody unless doing so would pose a risk to the juvenile or ongoing investigation.
8. Specifies that, if the juvenile is a ward of the state, the employee of the school must notify DCS, which must notify the applicable public defender, guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate.
9. Defines law enforcement officer to mean a peace officer, school resource officer or school safety officer who is employed by a school district of charter school in an off-duty capacity.
10. Excludes a school resource officer who is assigned to a school district or charter school pursuant to the School Safety Program from the definition of law enforcement officer.
11. Defines school safety officer as a school resource officer who is working in an off-duty capacity.
12. Defines school as any public institution established for the purposes of offering instruction to pupils in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs or any combination of elementary grades or secondary grades 1 through 12.
13. Makes technical changes.
14. Becomes effective on July 1, 2026.
House Action
GOV 2/20/25 DPA 7-0-0-0
3rd Read 3/3/25 58-0-2
Prepared by Senate Research
March 24, 2025
ZD/AW/ci