Report Title:

Secondary School Security Attendants

 

Description:

Requires the department of public safety rather than the department of education to carry out the initial and ongoing training of school security attendants after 6/30/02, subject to the availability of funding. Appropriates funds for the training of security attendants for school campuses.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1881

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to SCHOOL SECURITY.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that according to the department of education, the role of a Hawaii secondary school security attendant is to:

(1) Patrol and provide surveillance of school grounds and buildings as a deterrent to overt disturbances;

(2) Help assure a safe and secure environment for students and staff;

(3) Enforce relevant school rules; and

(4) Refer students to counseling or other staff for assistance.

Reports from the Hawaii state student council, along with the Hawaii, Maui, Honolulu, Windward, Leeward, Central, and Kauai district councils, indicate that school security attendants at secondary schools have not performed to the best of their ability. According to the 2001 student leadership workshop issue survey results, safety and security in our schools ranks second out of the top five concerns that are of importance to students. For example, in September 1999, a student at a Hawaii high school was reportedly thrown into a pole by another student and knocked unconscious, while the school security attendant who witnessed the incident allegedly took no action. The victim's mother reports that the student still has headaches, blurred vision, difficulty concentrating, and deteriorating grades. The school security attendant in question currently holds the same position at the same school.

In Hawaii, the Honolulu, Central, Windward, and Leeward departmental school districts on Oahu offer a voluntary school security training class, which costs $60 per student. The State does not require a license or certificate for an individual to work as a school security attendant. According to the department of education, it only recommends certain qualifications for a person to become a school security attendant. These include:

(1) Knowledge of cultural relations, gang problems, and socio-ethnic backgrounds of students;

(2) The ability to give and take simple verbal and written orders;

(3) The ability to observe and report verbally or in writing any unusual student behavior;

(4) The ability to provide accurate incident reports to the school administration and to police;

(5) The ability to give assistance and simple guidance to students;

(6) The ability to think and act quickly in an emergency situation;

(7) The ability to decide on and provide appropriate measures to prevent injury to persons and damage to property; and

(8) The ability to get along well with others.

However, these are only recommended qualifications.

The legislature finds that New York State passed the Security Guard Act of 1992. The New York law mandates the training and licensing of all security guards employed in New York State, including those providing security in secondary schools, and the licensing of private security training schools. The law also requires that all private security training must be approved and that all private security trainers be certified. Mandated courses include:

(1) An eight-hour pre-assignment training course;

(2) A sixteen-hour on-the-job training course; and

(3) An eight-hour annual in-service course.

Additional courses are required for guards who carry firearms.

The purpose of this Act is to ensure the safety of pupils, staff, and the general public on or near Hawaii's public schools by requiring school security attendants to undergo ongoing training.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III, subpart B, to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A-    School security attendants; certification by department of public safety; courses and content; rules. (a) After June 30, 2002, no person shall act in the capacity of a school security attendant unless the person is certified by the department of public safety. To be certified, a person must successfully complete the required training provided by the department of public safety. Subject to the availability of funding, the initial and ongoing training of school security attendants shall be carried out by the department of public safety after June 30, 2002.

(b) The department of public safety shall consider including in its training the courses and course content as required by the Security Guard Act of 1992 enacted by New York State, which includes:

(1) An eight-hour pre-assignment training course;

(2) A sixteen-hour on-the-job training course; and

(3) An eight-hour annual in-service course.

(c) The department of public safety shall adopt rules governing courses and course content and certification of school security attendants in accordance with chapter 91 to carry out the purpose of this section."

SECTION 3. Section 26-14.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§26-14.6 Department of public safety. (a) The department of public safety shall be headed by a single executive to be known as the director of public safety.

(b) The department of public safety shall be responsible for the formulation and implementation of state policies and objectives for correctional, security, law enforcement, and public safety programs and functions, for the administration and maintenance of all public or private correctional facilities and services, for the service of process, and for the security of state buildings.

(c) Effective July 1, 1990, the Hawaii paroling authority and the crime victim compensation commission are placed within the department of public safety for administrative purposes only.

(d) Effective July 1, 1990, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by:

(1) The department of corrections relating to adult corrections and the intake service centers;

(2) The judiciary relating to the sheriff's office and judiciary security personnel; and

(3) The department of the attorney general relating to state law enforcement officers and narcotics enforcement investigators with the narcotics enforcement division,

shall be transferred to the department of public safety.

(e) Effective July 1, 1990, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the department of health pursuant to chapters 329 and 329C, with the exception of sections 329-2, 329-3, and 329-4(3) to (8), shall be transferred to the department of public safety.

(f) Effective July 1, 1990, the functions, authority, and obligations, together with the limitations imposed thereon and the privileges and immunities conferred thereby, exercised by a "sheriff", "sheriffs", a "sheriff's deputy", "sheriff's deputies", a "deputy sheriff", "deputy sheriffs", or a "deputy", under sections 21-8, 47-18, 88-51, 105-4, 134-11, 134-51, 183D-11, 187A-14, 201G-55, 201G-74, 231-25, 281-108, 281-111, 286-52, 286-52.5, 321-1, 322-6, 325-9, 325-80, 353-11, 383-71, 438-5, 445-37, 482E-4, 485-6, 501-42, 501-171, 501-218, 521-78, 578-4, 584-6, 587-33, 603-29, 604-6.2, 606-14, 607-2, 607-4, 607-8, 633-8, 634-11, 634-12, 634-21, 634-22, 651-33, 651-37, 651-51, 654-2, 655-2, 657-13, 660-16, 666-11, 666-21, 803-23, 803-34, 803-35, 804-14, 804-18, 804-41, 805-1, 806-71, and 832-23 shall be exercised to the same extent by the department of public safety.

(g) Effective January 1, 1993, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the attorney general and the department of the attorney general relating to the executive security officers shall be transferred to the department of public safety.

(h) Effective July 1, 1999, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the director of public safety and the department of public safety relating to after hours security contracts at department of education facilities, except for the security functions being performed by employees of the public library system as well as the contractual security services for the libraries, shall be transferred to the department of education.

(i) Effective January 1, 1993, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the director of health and the department of health relating to uniformed security employees and security contracts at various state hospitals throughout the State shall be transferred to the department of public safety.

(j) Effective January 1, 1993, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the director of human services and the department of human services relating to contractual security guard services shall be transferred to the department of public safety.

(k) Effective July 1, 1994, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the adjutant general relating to security for national guard and state civil defense facilities in the Diamond Head complex, for after work hours, shall be transferred to the department of public safety.

(l) Effective July 1, 2002, the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the superintendent of education and the department of education relating to the initial and ongoing training of school security attendants shall be transferred to the department of public safety; provided that the training of school security attendants by the department of public safety shall be subject to the availability of funding."

SECTION 4. The department of human resources development, in consultation with the department of education, the department of public safety, and the exclusive representative for school security attendants, shall revise the minimum qualification specifications for school security attendants to require all school security attendants hired after June 30, 2002, to satisfactorily complete the initial training courses conducted by the department of public safety before being allowed to work as a school security attendant. The satisfactory completion of these initial training courses shall be a condition of continued employment for all school security attendants hired after June 30, 2002.

No school security attendant having tenure by June 30, 2002, shall suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a consequence of this Act, and such school security attendant may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the necessity of examination; provided that the school security attendant possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and compensation laws.

A school security attendant who does not have tenure by June 30, 2002, and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position as a consequence of this Act shall become a civil service employee without the loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits or privileges and without the necessity of examination; provided that the school security attendant possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed.

SECTION 5. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the department of education relating to the initial and ongoing training of school security attendants are transferred to the department of public safety on July 1, 2002.

All officers and employees whose functions are transferred by this Act shall be transferred with their functions and shall continue to perform their regular duties upon their transfer, subject to the state personnel laws and this Act.

No officer or employee of the State having tenure shall suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a consequence of this Act, and such officer or employee may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the necessity of examination; provided that the officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and compensation laws.

An officer or employee of the State who does not have tenure and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position as a consequence of this Act shall become a civil service employee without the loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits or privileges and without the necessity of examination; provided that such officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed.

In the event that an office or position held by an officer or employee having tenure is abolished, the officer or employee shall not thereby be separated from public employment, but shall remain in the employment of the State with the same pay and classification and shall be transferred to some other office or position for which the officer or employee is eligible under the personnel laws of the State as determined by the head of the department or the governor.

SECTION 6. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the department of education relating to the functions transferred to the department of public safety shall be July 1, 2002.

SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002-2003, to train school security attendants for the department of education's school campuses.

SECTION 8. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of public safety for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 9. New statutory material is underscored.

INTRODUCED BY:

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