COTC chair, Shirley Ginwright, chaired an Ad Hoc Committee to review the Resource Officer (SRO)Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  A SRO is a sworn Fairfax County Police officer assigned to a middle or high school, to assist school administrators in maintaining safety, within their assigned school. The MOU between the Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax County Public School outlines the roles and responsibilities of the SRO and the school administrators.  The previous MOU was last updated in 2014.  Since that time, there has been changes to the responsibilities of the SRO, as well as community concerns on the role SROs have played in the school-to-prison pipeline, in which children of color are introduced into the criminal justice system at a much higher rate than White students, for the same infraction.

Over 17 community organizations participated on the committee, established by Chairman Sharon Bulova.  Serving in a support role were Fairfax County Chief of Police Roessler and the Fairfax County School Superintendent, Dr. Brabrand.   The committee held three intense meetings and created over 50 pages of comments.  The updated MOU became effective in September 2018, addressed most of the community concerns and will be reviewed annually.

You can read the MOU here:     https://www.fcps.edu/node/36886

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