Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71 § 37P
"Chief of police", the chief of police or the board or officer having control of the police department in a city or town.
"Commission", the model school resource officer memorandum of understanding review commission established in subsection (b).
"Model memorandum of understanding", the model school resource officer memorandum of understanding developed by the commission.
"School resource officer", a duly sworn municipal police officer with all necessary training, up-to-date certificates, including special school resource officer certification as required by subsection (b) of section 3 of chapter 6E or a special officer appointed by the chief of police charged with:
The commission shall include: the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and the secretary of the executive office of public safety and security, who shall serve as co-chairs; the attorney general or a designee; the child advocate or a designee; the chief justice of the juvenile court or a designee; the secretary of health and human services or a designee; the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, Inc. or a designee ; the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, Inc. or a designee; the executive director of the municipal police training committee established in section 116 of chapter 6 or a designee; the certification director of the division of police certification established in section 4 of chapter 6E or a designee; the executive director of the mental health legal advisors committee established in section 34E of chapter 221 or a designee; the executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, Inc. or a designee; the executive director of the Children's League of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; a Massachusetts public school superintendent, to be appointed by the senate president; a Massachusetts public school teacher, to appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; a Massachusetts public school social worker, to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; a parent or guardian of a child in a Massachusetts public school, to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; and 4 members to be appointed by the governor: 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. and 2 of whom shall be representatives from Massachusetts youth organizations with proven records of supporting services and programs for high numbers of youths in order to ensure healthy development and social responsibility.
The model memorandum of understanding shall be developed for schools and police departments as the minimum requirement for schools to formalize and clarify implementation of the partnership between the school and the school resource officer. In conducting such development and review, the commission shall determine the necessary provisions to achieve the district's educational and school safety goals and to help maintain a positive school environment for all students.
The model memorandum of understanding shall, at minimum, describe:
The model memorandum of understanding shall expressly state that school resource officers shall not:
In carrying out its duties under this section, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall work with the executive office of public safety and security to provide the commission with any data and information they consider relevant to the commission's duties.
The commission shall meet every 5 years for the purpose of developing and reviewing the model memorandum of understanding. The model memorandum of understanding shall be subject to final approval by the co-chairs of the commission and shall be made publicly available by the department of elementary and secondary education, distributed to school districts and filed with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate.
Members shall not receive compensation for their services but may receive reimbursement for the reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their responsibilities as members of the commission. The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall furnish reasonable staff and other support for the work of the commission. Prior to issuing its recommendations, the commission shall provide the opportunity to seek public input across regions of the commonwealth. It shall not constitute a violation of chapter 268A for a person employed by a school district to serve on the commission or to participate in commission deliberations that may have a financial impact on the district or municipality employing that person. The commission may establish procedures to ensure that no such person participates in commission deliberations that may directly affect the school districts employing those persons.
In assigning a school resource officer, the chief of police shall assign an officer that the chief believes would strive to foster an optimal learning environment and educational community that promotes a strong partnership between school and police personnel. The chief of police shall give preference to candidates who demonstrate the requisite personality and character to work effectively with children, youth and educators in a school environment with a demonstrated ability to work successfully with a population that has a similar racial and ethnic background as those prevalent in the student body, and who have received specialized training relating to working with adolescents and children, including cognitive development, de-escalation tactics, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E and alternatives to arrest and diversion strategies. The appointment shall not be based solely on seniority. The performance of a school resource officer shall be reviewed annually by the superintendent and the chief of police.
The superintendent and the chief of police shall adopt, at minimum, the model memorandum of understanding developed by the commission pursuant to subsection (b) and may add further provisions as they mutually deem fit; provided, however, that no further provision included in the memorandum of understanding adopted by said superintendent and said chief of police shall conflict with or omit any provisions of this section. The final memorandum of understanding adopted by the superintendent and the chief of police shall be made public and placed on file annually with the department of elementary and secondary education and in the offices of the school superintendent and the chief of police.
The chief of police, in consultation with the school superintendent, shall establish operating procedures to provide guidance to school resource officers about daily operations, policies and procedures. At a minimum, the operating procedures as established by the chief of police, shall describe the following for the school resource officer:
The department of elementary and secondary education shall collect and publish disaggregated data regarding school-based arrests, citations and court referrals of students to the department and shall make such report available for public review.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, § 37P