(1)(a) A safety and security staff training program is established. The program must be jointly developed by the educational service districts, but may be administered primarily by one or more educational service districts. The program must meet the requirements of this section.

(b) When developing the safety and security staff training program, the educational service districts should engage with the state school safety center established in RCW 28A.300.630 and the school safety and student well-being advisory committee established in RCW 28A.300.635.

(2) The educational service districts must identify or develop classroom training on the following subjects:

(a) Constitutional and civil rights of children in schools, including state law governing search and interrogation of youth in schools;

(b) Child and adolescent development;

(c) Trauma-informed approaches to working with youth;

(d) Recognizing and responding to youth mental health issues;

(e) Educational rights of students with disabilities, the relationship of disability to behavior, and best practices for interacting with students with disabilities;

(f) Bias free policing and cultural competency, including best practices for interacting with students from particular backgrounds, including English learner, LGBTQ, immigrant, female, and nonbinary students;

(g) Local and national disparities in the use of force and arrests of children;

(h) Collateral consequences of arrest, referral for prosecution, and court involvement;

(i) Resources available in the community that serve as alternatives to arrest and prosecution and pathways for youth to access services without court or criminal justice involvement;

(j) De-escalation techniques when working with youth or groups of youth;

(k) State law regarding restraint and isolation in schools, including RCW 28A.600.485;

(l) The federal family educational rights and privacy act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) requirements including limits on access to and dissemination of student records for noneducational purposes; and

(m) Restorative justice principles and practices.

(3) The educational service districts must provide, or arrange for the delivery of, classroom training on the subjects listed in subsection (2) of this section. At a minimum, classroom trainings on each subject must be provided annually, remotely, synchronously or asynchronously, and by at least one educational service district. Classroom training may be provided on a fee-for-service basis and should be self-supporting.

(4) The educational service districts must provide to safety and security staff, upon request, documentation that the safety and security staff training series described in RCW 28A.400.345(2) has been completed. Before providing this training series documentation, completion of each component of the training series must be verified or, in the case of safety and security staff with significant prior training and experience, waived.

(5) The educational service districts must develop and publish guidelines for on-the-job training and check-in training that include recommendations for identifying and recruiting experienced safety and security staff to provide the trainings, suggested activities during on-the-job trainings, and best practices for meaningful check-in trainings. The guidelines for check-in training must also include recommended frequency, possible topics of discussion, and options for connecting virtually.

(6) For purposes of this section, the term “safety and security staff” has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.320.124.

Findings—Intent—2021 c 38: See note following RCW 28A.400.345.