Frequently Asked Questions

A school resource officer (SRO) is a carefully selected, specifically trained, and properly equipped law enforcement officer with sworn authority, trained in school-based law enforcement and crisis response and assigned by an employing law enforcement agency to work collaboratively with one or more schools using community-oriented policing concepts.

The goals of well-founded SRO programs include providing safe learning environments in our nation’s schools, providing valuable resources to school staff members, fostering positive relationships with youth, developing strategies to resolve problems affecting youth and protecting all students, so that they can reach their fullest potentials. NASRO considers it a best practice to use a “triad concept” to define the three main roles of school resource officers: educator (i.e. guest lecturer), informal counselor/mentor, and law enforcement officer.

School police work is not for every law enforcement officer.

There should be a clearly defined process to select an officer for an SRO assignment. This selection process should be agreed upon between the law enforcement agency and the school administration. The school administration should be involved in the selection process, including but not limited to, the interviews of SRO candidates.

Candidate officers should have at least three years of law enforcement experience. This level of experience will help the officer obtain credibility among the school faculty, students, and parents. This level of experience will also allow the SRO to have a greater understanding of the local law enforcement agency’s policies and procedures.

Candidate officers should have a desire to engage with youth, ideally demonstrated through previous participation in youth programs, such as scouting, youth sports, church youth ministry, etc.

Candidates must have clean disciplinary records, devoid of any complaints about conduct involving juveniles.

At the end of the 2019–2020 school year, there were approximately 23,400 sworn school resource officers (SROs) in the United States, according to a November 2023 report published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice. About 11,500 (49%) of these SROs were employed by local police departments, 7,600 (32%) were employed by sheriffs’ offices, and 4,400 (19%) were employed by school district police departments.

During the 2021–22 academic year, approximately 45% of US public schools reported having sworn law enforcement officers who routinely carried a firearm, according to a report published in July 2024 by the National Center for Education Statistics. The report does not indicate how many of those sworn law enforcement officers fit the generally accepted definition of "school resource officer" (See "What is a school resource officer?", above). It also does not indicates how many schools had sworn law enforcement officers who do not routinely carry a firearm (See "Are school resource officers usually armed?", below).

A 2018 report by the National Center for Education Statistics, based on a survey of public schools conducted in the spring of 2016, indicated that 42 percent of public schools reported that they had at least one SRO present at least one day a week during the 2015-2016 academic year.

Because school resource officers (SROs) are by definition sworn law enforcement officers, all SROs receive the same academy training as do patrol officers.

Because police work in schools must be approached differently than normal patrol work, NASRO recommends that in addition to academy training, all SROs receive training specific to the assignment. Many agencies send SROs to NASRO's 40-hour Basic SRO Course, offered at locations around the US.

Of US SROs surveyed by the US Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics during the 2019-2020 academic year, 42% reported that they had received specialized training from a national organization like NASRO or from both a national organization and a state organization. 

Yes. A school resource officer is a commissioned, sworn law enforcement officer, not a “security guard.” NASRO recommends that all SROs be issued and carry all the same equipment they’d have on any other law enforcement assignment, including routine patrol. NASRO is aware, however, that a few communities unfortunately prohibit their SROs carrying their firearms when on school campuses.

A 2023 report by US Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that 99.9% of US SROs carry firearms in the schools to which they are assigned. Fewer SROs (65.2%) carry a conducted energy device, commonly known as a taser.

Researchers at Canada’s Carleton University conducted a two-year study of an SRO program in the Regional Municipality of Peel. In their report, published by Routledge in 2019, they concluded that for every dollar invested in the program, a minimum of $11.13 of social and economic value was created. The report lists numerous benefits of the program, including:

• Prevention or minimization of property damage in the school and surrounding areas.
• Prevention of student injuries and even death due to violence, drug overdoses, etc.
• Reduction of the need for schools to call 911.
• Reduction of the likelihood that a student will get a criminal record.
• Increase of the likelihood that students (particularly those with mental health issues) will get the help they need from the social service and health care systems.
• Increase in feelings of safety among students and staff.

A database of the National Police Foundation’s Averted School Violence project is full of case studies that describe similar SRO interventions. A 2020 report, “School Resource Officers: Averted School Violence Special Report”, describes 12 incidents from that database.

Several times a month during each academic year, news stories from outlets around the U.S. report on SROs learning of and confiscating firearms from students.

No. Carefully selected, specifically trained school resource officers avoid arresting students unless necessary, even for behaviors that could result in arrests on disorderly conduct or similar charges out on the streets. A May 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Justice shows that between 1996 and 2019, nationwide arrests of youth younger than 18 declined significantly. The prevalence of SROs in the nation's schools, however, increased significantly during that period, especially after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

NASRO recommends that every school have at least one carefully selected, specially trained school resource officer. Previous thought has been to place one SRO per 1,000 students. NASRO recommends considering factors such as campus size (including acreage and number of buildings), school climate and location, and the number of non-sworn safety team members on campus when determining the number of SROs needed on campus.

NASRO trains school resource officers to move directly to the threat, as quickly as possible and then to neutralize the threat to prevent further injury or loss of life.

NASRO strongly recommends that no firearms be on a school campus except those carried by carefully selected, specially trained, school-based law enforcement officers. There are several reasons for this recommendation:

• Law enforcement officers who respond to an incident at a school could mistake anyone who is holding a weapon and not wearing a uniform for an assailant.
• Anyone who hasn’t received the extensive training provided to law enforcement officers will likely be mentally unprepared to take a life, especially the life of a student assailant.
• Firearm skills diminish quickly, which is why most law enforcement agencies require their officers to practice on a shooting range frequently (as often as once per month), under simulated, high-stress conditions. Anyone without such frequent, ongoing practice will likely have difficulty using a firearm safely and effectively.
• In addition to maintaining marksmanship, ongoing firearms practice helps law enforcement officers overcome the physiological response to stress than can reduce the fine motor skills required to accurately fire a weapon.
• Anyone who possesses a firearm on campus must be able to keep it both ready for immediate use and absolutely secure. Law enforcement officers receive training that enables them to overcome attempts to access their weapons.
• Discharging a firearm in a crowded school is an extremely risky action, with consequences that can include the wounding and/or death of innocent victims. Law enforcement officers receive training and practice in evaluating quickly the risks of firing. They hold their fire when the risks to others are too high.

Rather than arming school faculty or staff, NASRO recommends that sufficient federal, state and/or local funding be made available to place at least one carefully selected, specially trained school resource officer in every school in the nation. NASRO further recommends that large schools be provided more than one SRO.

No. Carefully selected, specially trained school resource officers who follow NASRO’s best practices do not arrest students for disciplinary issues that would be handled by teachers and/or administrators if the SROs were not there. On the contrary, SROs help troubled students avoid involvement with the juvenile justice system. In fact, wide acceptance of NASRO best practices is one reason that the rates of juvenile arrests throughout the U.S. fell during a period when the proliferation of SROs increased (see To Protect and Educate: The School Resource Officer and the Prevention of Violence in Schools).

The first step in becoming a school resource officer is to become a sworn, career law enforcement officer. Typically, one becomes a law enforcement officer by applying to a law enforcement agency for employment and then completing the training that agency requires of its recruits. NASRO recommends that law enforcement officers gain at least three years of street experience and complete specialized SRO training before being assigned to SRO positions. See also the question above regarding how SROs should be selected.

NASRO trains but does not certify school resource officers. In most contexts, certification implies an expiration date, renewal requirements (e.g. continuing education) and a revocation procedure in the rare event of misconduct. NASRO currently has no program that includes any of these. NASRO does, however, offer a recognition program for SROs who meet certain requirements, including completion of advanced training. NASRO bestows its National SRO Practitioner designation on such officers. Once bestowed, the Practitioner designation does not expire.

NASRO Members will receive membership benefits such as the quarterly training publication The Journal of School Safety, which contains articles on the most current trends on drugs, social media, and includes law updates, articles on teen development and more.  In addition, members receive discounted training rates and have access to our Members Only section of the NASRO website. This section includes the School Law Database allowing members to research school law as it relates to the state in which they live/work. Members can gain access to lesson plans, MOU samples and numerous other resources as well as join the NASRO Yahoo E-Group and network with thousands of SROs across the country and internationally via e-mail. Regular NASRO Members are allowed voting privileges in the yearly elections of the NASRO Board of Directors. In addition to helping SROs around the country gain access to important materials, membership dues help NASRO continue its global advocacy of school policing and best practices.

No.  Accounts/memberships follow each individual for attendance and certification, therefore if you attempt to register someone under your login/account, you are actually registering yourself.  Registrations are subject to a $25 transfer fee to transfer the registration to the appropriate person.

The person being registered must have a login/account in his or her own name. If you are not sure if they have an account, please call NASRO at 888-316-2776 and let them check for you.

Please use this document when creating a profile and/or registering for a class or conference.

 No.  Please do not create a new account.  If you have ever trained with NASRO, you already have an account. If you cannot log in to your account, please call 888.316.2776 to verify information on your existing account.  If you set up another account, it will cause issues with obtaining your certificates.

To receive your certificate, you will need to do these things:

1. Log into your NASRO account with the email address used to create your account. This is your username. If you cannot remember your username or password, please call 205-739-6060 for help with your login. Do NOT create a new account!

2. After logging into your NASRO account, find the course in your “My Courses” section on your “My Account” page. Out to the side of your course will be 2 columns – attended and paid. The attendance column should say “YES”.

3. The payment column must say “YES” before your certificate will appear in the “My Certificates” section. If this column says “NO” it means payment for the class has not been received or has not been processed. If you know that it has been paid, you must email accounting with the date and location of your training, and any payment information you may have.

4. When the 2 columns read YES – YES, your certificate should appear in your “My Certificates” section. If membership information is to be updated, it will update AFTER you PRINT your certificate.

If there are any issues with your course certificate, please contact our office within 30 days of course completion.

 Anyone completing the NASRO Basic course will receive a one-year NASRO membership.  For other courses, you will only receive a free membership if you paid the non-member rate for a class or conference or the early-bird conference rate.

Classes are listed as they become available.  Agencies that are interested in hosting a class in their area are invited to submit a host packet for approval.  Once the class is approved, it is immediately posted on the website. Monitor the website for new class postings.  If you are interested in hosting a class in your area, please contact NASRO Training Director Kerri Williamson at [email protected].

No.  Spots cannot be held.  If you register yourself in order to “hold” a spot, you will be subject to a cancellation fee/transfer fee of $25.00 per cancellation/transfer.  If you really need to get someone registered in a class but do not currently know who that person will be, please keep an eye on the number of seats remaining.