Sec 15-154. Public school safety program proposal; requirements; purpose; definitions

A. A public school district or charter school may apply to participate in the school safety program as provided in this section for up to three fiscal years by submitting by April 15 a program proposal to the school safety program oversight committee. The program proposal shall contain:

1. A detailed description of the school safety needs of the public school or school district.

2. A plan for implementing a law-related education program or a plan that demonstrates the existence of a law-related education program as a school safety prevention strategy.

3. A plan to use trained school resource officers or juvenile probation officers in the schools, or both.

B. The state board of education shall administer the program in cooperation with the courts, law enforcement agencies and law-related education providers. Representatives from the state board of education shall use relevant crime statistics and shall visit schools located in school districts that submit program proposals in order to verify the information contained in the program proposals.

C. The department of education, at the direction of the state board of education, shall distribute monies to the school districts and charter schools that are in compliance with program requirements and whose plans have been approved by the school safety program oversight committee.

D. Any appropriations that are made to the department of education for the school safety program are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to the lapsing of appropriations. All monies that are not used for an approved school safety plan during the fiscal year for which the monies were appropriated revert to the department of education for distribution to the program in the following fiscal year.

E. Monies received by a school district or charter school under the program shall be spent to implement the approved plans.

F. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Law-related education" means interactive education to equip children and youth with knowledge and skills pertaining to the law, school safety and effective citizenship.

2. "Law-related education program" means a program designed to provide children and youth with knowledge, skills and activities pertaining to the law and legal process and to promote law-abiding behavior with the purpose of preventing children and youth from engaging in delinquency or violence and enabling them to become productive citizens.