PHOENIX — After nearly a year of meetings, studies and recommendations, the Phoenix Union High School district appears ready to bring back law enforcement officers to its campuses for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
The district’s governing board discussed plans to put law enforcement back on campus as early as the upcoming school year on Thursday night.
According to district officials, the governing board approved the acceptance of the ADE grant for all six officers they awarded the District.
Each officer will then become Regional Resource Officers (RROs) and each region will be assigned two officers. This is plan is all based on the City of Phoenix also giving approval.
The board detailed to supporters and opponents its comprehensive safety plan outlining the guidelines and roles of officers on the PXU campus.
The PXU Wellness and Safety Plan recommendations result from a months-long district safety committee that received public feedback from students, parents, educators and law enforcement.
The committee was formed after a fight at Central High School in September 2022. The incident prompted a shooting scare, triggering a lockdown.
No evidence of a shooting was ever found.
The committee was tasked with finding the best ways to protect the district’s 23 campuses and more than 28,000 students.
The move to bring back officers comes two years after the district voted to remove them.
The plan calls for hiring as many as six officers. Four officers would come from Phoenix police. Two juvenile probation officers would be hired through Maricopa County. The six officers would be paid for through a grant from the Department of Education.
The board could also hire additional officers, but the district must find additional ways to fund them.
The City of Phoenix would still have to approve the plan through an Interlocal Government Agreement.
The plan calls for forming an oversight committee, a formal complaint system allowing students, educators and staff to file complaints for inappropriate actions against safety teams, law enforcement or private security.
Under the plan, law enforcement officers would be required to have training in working with youth and training in working with students with special needs and mental health.
Disciplinary records could also be reviewed by the district.
Stay with 12News for updates.
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