MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN
CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
AND
CITY OF CHULA VISTA
FOR
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM
MISSION STATEMENT: It is the mission of the Chula Vista Elementary School District (District) in concert with the City of Chula Vista (City) acting through its Police Department to provide a safe, secure, orderly and effective teaching and learning environment for all students and staff within the District and the City.
Ensuring the safety, welfare, and the best possible educational opportunities is a priority for the District and the City. On-campus, School Resource Officers (SRO) will focus on maintaining a positive partnership with students and staff , providing early intervention services to elementary school youth and overall improved community relations through partnership, prevention, intervention, education and progressive enforcement strategies.
The City and the District will also focus on developing and strengthening cooperative partnerships with educational institutions, public safety resources, and community-based support organizations to provide for early intervention and holistic, wrap- around social support services to reduce or prevent future challenges and to enhance effective learning for students.
The goal of the School Resource Officer program is to enhance the safety , security and success of the District’s scholastic institutions by maintaining close , consistent and productive relationships with students, their families, and District staff.
As a result, the District and the City agree to undertake the following responsibilities and expectations to achieve these mutual objectives:
A. DISTRICT'S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY:
1. Ensure student welfare portal to portal;
2. Develop procedures to handle campus safety issues;
3. Develop emergency response procedures;
4. Develop Comprehensive School Safety Plans;
5. Comply with all student confidentiality requirements, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and related California law.
6. Establish and follow procedures for referring School Resource Officer involvement;
7. Cooperate with and support in a proactive manner the School Resource Officers' efforts to work with students, school personnel, parents, and the community;
8. Conduct an annual Hanover Survey to District stakeholders to inquire about SRO experiences, comments, and/or concerns.
B. CITY’S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY:
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1. Work with each site principal, staff and community members to help continue safe, drug-free, and productive educational experiences for students of the District.
2. When available, respond to police calls for service and requests for assistance from students and staff as they occur during regular school hours.
3. Create and maintain channels of productive communication with students and families.
4. Collaborate and plan service and support with school site principal.
5. Work with community agencies to enhance school and student success through proactive intervention services, alternatives to detention, wrap- around services and other programs to reduce illegal conduct, enhance rehabilitation, and reduce the involvement of criminal justice systems.
6. Work with school staff and District personnel in matters of mutual concern such as prevention and intervention in the areas of alcohol and drug use on campus, tobacco and vaping education and prevention, marijuana and cannabis education and prevention, initiatives to enhance the safety of students and staff on campus, anti-bullying campaigns, reduction and prevention of violence and crime, reduction of campus intrusion, cyber safety for youth, and loss and/or damage to property and to provide a data bank of efforts made throughout the year for comparison to previous years and for future growth.
7. Work with parent/teacher groups as needed throughout the District.
8. Officers assigned to the District shall be provided specialized training for School Resource Officers in accordance with standards set by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and in accordance with the policies and practices of the City’s Police Department. Although specific training topics may vary, School Resource Officers should be provided with specialized knowledge in a variety of topics unique to their assignment such as de-escalation strategies and techniques, education and awareness of implicit bias, capacity to expand 21- st century policing and cross-cultural competencies, strategies to prevent bias against black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIP OC), communication strategies to enhance the SRO’s abilities to foster positive relations with youth, an understanding of contemporary challenges faced by youth, methods and resources to assist youth in fulfilling their on- campus and off -campus needs, strategies to work collaboratively with teachers and school administrative staff, and capabilities to enhance a network of local resources to assist students with unmet needs.
9. Evaluate and investigate both internal and external security concerns or threats of violence to students, staff, and campuses.
10. Schedule security education and enhancement activities as needed.
11. When available, attend parent conferences/meetings to foster positive relationships and to ensure the safety of students, their families, and District staff.
12. Assist Student Atte ndance Review Board (S.A.R.B.) meetings by providing Law Enforcement intervention or action in collaboration with the District.
13. Focus and intervene with students in at-risk situations, in the best interests of the students, their families, and the school.
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14. Comply with all student confidentiality requirements, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and related California law.
15. When available, attend various sporting events and school activities as needed to provide for a preventative presence, student and staff interactions, and enforcement as appropriate.
16. Document all incidents of crime as per department regulations.
17. Discourage illegal acts on or against school campuses and their staff and students by providing high visibility of uniformed police officer presence on the campuses of the District.
18. Treat all individuals with fairness, respect and dignity in equally enforcing the laws and providing equal service to the public, regardless of immigration status , race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ + identification, religious beliefs or any other protected class.
19. Not enforce immigration laws.
20. Not gather, share or distribute any information related to any student’s (or student’s family members) immigration status for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
21. Collaborate with the District and coordinate with the City’s Homeless Outreach Team, by offering social servic es options to homeless student population to address chronic absenteeism.
22. Upon request, present an annual report at a Board of Education meeting that highlights the SRO program (including intervention/service call data and cost analysis of contracts).
23. Collaborate with the District to explore potential data collection capabilities to analyze and, upon request, present an annual report at a Board of Education Meeting that highlights SRO calls, activities, referrals and responses.
C. PERFORMANCE:
Either party may request an informal meeting to discuss any concern regarding compliance with the Roles and Responsibilities listed above. Parties agree to conduct such meeting no later than 10 work days after the request.
D. TIME FRAME:
This Memorandum of Understanding shall become effective July 1, 2022 for an initial 12-month period ending June 30, 2023. This Memorandum of Understanding may be extended for two (2) additional one-year periods upon written approval of both parties.
Either party shall have the right to cancel this Memorandum of Understanding upon 90 days advance written notice during the term of this agreement.
E. SPAN OF CONTROL/JURISDICTION:
Prevention/education/training/proactive activities will take place at all schools in the District located within the City limits of Chula Vista. The School Resource Officers MOU between City of CV/CVESD effective July 1, 2022 4
shall remain employees of the City , under the direction and control of Police Department’s leadership, and shall adhere to the mission, values, policies and practices of the City and its Police Department. Requests for work assignments will be developed by District Human Resources and individual school sites and will be issued to the SRO Sergeant of the Chula Vista Police Department, who will thereafter direct the School Resource Officers to respond appropriately to the requests. School Resource Officers will be jointly selected by District and City staff.
F. RESOURCE:
Resource and local management will be coordinated at:
Chula Vista Elementary School District
Attn: Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D.
84 East "J" Street
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(619) 425-9600
City of Chula Vista Police Department
Attn: Chief Roxana Kennedy
315 Fourth Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(619) 691-5150
G. COST:
In order to maintain the School Resource Officer Program, the District has agreed to pay for services of four Police Officers and 50% of the services of one Police Agent who are assigned to the School Resource Officer program. The City will fund the Police Sergeant who supervises the program. The cost to the District will be $715,326 in 2022-2023 (as outlined in Exhibit A).
This Memorandum of Understanding shall be effective July 1, 2022 . Upon execution of this Memorandum, the District, upon invoicing, will pay to the Finance Director of the City, the agreed amount in quarterly installments. If the agreement is canceled as herein permitted, the City shall return forthwith to the Distric t the portion of such payment allocable to the period of the term subsequent to the effective date of cancellation.
H. NO INDEPENDENT BASIS FOR LIABILITY:
Nothing herein shall create, by this or other Agreement between the parties, an independent basis for liability of the City to either the District or to a third party for failing to respond, for responding to a call for police services in an alleged dilatory or negligent manner, or for any action or omission by a City employee pursuant to this Agreement .
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The City's liability, if any it may have, shall be that as determined by law without regard to the existence of this Agreement.
I. AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE:
The signatures below warrant that they have the legal authority to enter into this MOU and bind their respective parties to the rights and obligations herein.
CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY CITY OF CHULA VISTA
SCHOOL DISTRICT
By: ____________________________ By: ____________________________ Dr. Edurado Reyes Roxana Kennedy
Superintendent Chief of Police
Date: ___________________________ Date:____________________________
Approved as to form:
By: _____________________________
Glen R. Googins, City Attorney
Date: ___________________________
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EXHIBIT A