A School Resource Officer (SRO) is a commissioned law enforcement officer in Washington state with sworn authority to make arrests. They are specifically deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned by the employing police department or sheriff's office to work in schools to build positive relationships with students and respond to potential crimes affecting or occurring in or around K-12 schools. SROs focus on keeping students out of the criminal justice system. SROs are not school district employees, but rather are employed by the law enforcement agency which has a contractual arrangement with that district.

We are grateful to all three of the law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction within our school district area because all three have assigned an SRO to Mukilteo schools. The City of Mukilteo Police Department has assigned a police officer to Kamiak High School, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has assigned a deputy sheriff to Mariner High School, and the City of Everett Police Department has assigned a police officer to Explorer Middle School.

A Campus Security Officer (CSO) is a classified school district employee employed to perform school safety-related functions similar to those of SROs. CSOs are not commissioned law enforcement officers and cannot make arrests.

The implementation of ESHB 1214 in 2021 established a mandatory safety and security staff training program for both the SRO and CSO staff. This statewide program is being jointly developed and implemented by the Educational Service Districts. The School Safety and Security Staff training program covers 13 required, identified topics areas. Safety and Security Staff have to verify completion of the required training within the first 6 months of their work in schools. New training requirements also include on-the-job training, and staff check-ins. Before School Safety and Security Staff are assigned to work in school students are present, school districts and their contractors must either confirm that the safety and security staff have current training documentation or require the safety and security staff to complete the required training components.

More information about ESHB 1214