training required.

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A. As used in this section, “school resource officer” means a commissioned and certified law enforcement officer who is designated to be responsible for school safety and crime prevention and the appropriate response to crimes in public schools and has completed the training specified in Subsection B of this section.

B. A law enforcement officer who is or will be assigned as a school resource officer shall receive specific training for the duty, including instruction on the following:

(1)     the differences in successful law enforcement when conducted inside a school environment, including understanding the adolescent brain, crisis management and de-escalation techniques;

(2)     tools to be a positive role model for youth, including mentoring and informal counseling techniques;

(3)     the school resource officer’s role and responsibilities to school personnel and students and their families and strategies for connecting students and families to appropriate resources that will assist students to succeed in school, including strategies for mitigating truancy;

(4)     a variety of instructional techniques as well as classroom management tools to provide law-related education to students;

(5)     an understanding of adolescent development and adolescent mental health disorders and treatment; and

(6)     identification and response to students who are suspected of having a mental health need, including critical skills and capacity for appropriately responding to behavior issues that are typically observed among adolescents with mental health needs.

C. Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, a law enforcement officer who: (1)     is assigned as a school resource officer shall complete the training required in Subsection B of this section within twelve months of being assigned as a school resource officer; or

(2)     was serving as a school resource officer prior to the 2022-2023 school year and who has not received specific training for the position of school resource officer shall complete the training required in Subsection B of this section no later than July 1, 2023.

D. The school resource officer training shall be provided by or approved by the New Mexico law enforcement academy in consultation with the public education department.