PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Surrounded by police and elementary school students, Governor Patrick Morrisey ceremonially put his pen to legislation which will put more officers in the halls of West Virginia schools in the years to come.
The Governor signed House Bill 2802 Tuesday afternoon at Parkersburg’s Gihon Elementary School. The measure includes certain provisions which allow for police officers to obtain some of their required in-service training annually in a school setting.
“It’s going to incentivize officers to spend more time in schools with students and teachers and really have a more dedicated focus on school safety,” said Morrisey. “They can learn and obtain information of school resource officers, do in-school training, or perform work dedicated to school safety. It’s treated as part of their dedicated training hours.”
The Legislation was co-sponsored by Mason County Delegate Johnathan Pinson who was on hand for the signing.
“Our most valuable resource is not coal, it’s not our natural gas, our most valuable resource is our these children and making sure they are safe in their schools. It’s impossible to learn when you’re concerned about your own safety,” said Pinson. “With the signing of this bill we allow police officers access into the schools so they can certify those in-service training requirements and in doing so, they’re learning the layout of the school, developing relationships with children, the administration, and the faculty. Heaven forbid if there’s a day of crises and they’re called to a school like this to deal with a threat, but they can do so in a timely fashion and an efficient manner to provide safety to these children.”
Along with Pinson, the idea was also championed by Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger as a way to get more officers in the schools but not have to put out additional funding for more resource officers.
“It’s a no-cost program and it’s going to be great for West Virginia,” said Morrisey.