CHAPTER 1. Security Departments [38000. - 38005.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 1.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38000. Section 38000.

(a) The governing board of a school district may establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district. In accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 45100) of Part 25, the governing board of a school district may employ personnel to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils and the security of the real and personal property of the school district. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section that a school district security department is supplementary to city and county law enforcement agencies and is not vested with general police powers. (b) The governing board of a school district may establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and, in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 45100) of Part 25, may employ peace officers, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code, to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils, and the security of the real and personal property of the school district. (c) The governing board of a school district that establishes a security department or a police department shall set minimum qualifications of employment for the chief of security or school chief of police, respectively, including, but not limited to, prior employment as a peace officer or completion of a peace officer training course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. A chief of security or school chief of police shall comply with the prior employment or training requirement set forth in this subdivision as of January 1, 1993, or a date one year subsequent to the initial employment of the chief of security or school chief of police by the school district, whichever occurs later. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the employment by a school district of additional personnel. (d) A school district may assign a school police reserve officer who is deputized pursuant to Section 35021.5 to a schoolsite to supplement the duties of school police officers pursuant to this section. (e) It is the intent of the Legislature to evaluate the presence of peace officers and other law enforcement on school campuses and to identity and consider alternative options to ensure pupil safety based on the needs of the local school communities. It is the intent of the Legislature to consider encouraging local educational agencies to use school resources currently allocated to such personnel, including school police departments and contracts with local police or sheriff departments, for pupil support services, such as mental health services and professional development for school employees on cultural competency and restorative justice, as needed, if found to be a more appropriate use of resources based upon the needs of the pupils and campuses that serve them.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38001. Section 38001.

Persons employed and compensated as members of a police department of a school district, when appointed and duly sworn, are peace officers, for the purposes of carrying out their duties of employment pursuant to Section 830.32 of the Penal Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38001.5. Section 38001.5.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the safety of pupils, staff, and the public on or near California’s public schools, by providing school security officers with training that will enable them to deal with the increasingly diverse and dangerous situations they encounter. (b) (1) Every school security officer employed by a school district shall complete the latest course of training developed by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs in consultation with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training pursuant to Section 7583.45 of the Business and Professions Code. If a school security officer subject to the requirements of this subdivision is required to carry a firearm while performing their duties, that school security officer shall additionally satisfy the training requirements of Section 832 of the Penal Code. (2) A school district shall provide the training required pursuant to this subdivision to all school security officers who are employees of the school district. A school district shall provide the training during the employee’s regular work hours, unless otherwise negotiated and mutually agreed upon with the employee’s exclusive representative. (3) This subdivision does not require a school district to provide training to security guards who are not employees of the school district, including security guards who work on the property of the school district pursuant to a contract with a private licensed security agency. A school district that contracts for security services shall comply with the requirements of Section 45103.1. (4) This subdivision shall not apply to a school security officer employed by a school district who works 20 or fewer hours per week as a school security officer until July 1, 2021. (5) For purposes of this subdivision, “school district” includes a school district, county office of education, and charter school. (c) For purposes of this chapter, “school security officer” means any person primarily employed or assigned pursuant to subdivision (b) to provide security services as a watchperson, security guard, or patrolperson on or about premises owned or operated by a school district to protect persons or property or to prevent the theft or unlawful taking of school district property of any kind or to report any unlawful activity to the school district and local law enforcement agencies. (d) (1) A school security officer shall not be employed and shall not continue to be employed by a school district until both of the following conditions have been met: (A) (i) The applicant or employee has submitted to the school district two copies of their fingerprints on forms or electronically, as prescribed by the Department of Justice. The school district shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Justice, which shall submit one copy of the fingerprints to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. (ii) An applicant or contracted employee who holds a permanent registration with the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs as a security guard need only submit one copy of their fingerprints, which copy shall be submitted to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. (iii) An applicant or contracted employee who is registered by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs, and who holds a firearms qualification card as specified in Section 7583.22 of the Business and Professions Code, is exempt from the requirements of this subdivision. (B) The applicant or employee has been determined not to be a person prohibited from employment by a school district pursuant to Sections 44237 and 45122.1, or by the Department of Justice from possessing a firearm if the applicant is required to carry a firearm. (2) The Department of Justice may participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in lieu of submitting fingerprints to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to meet the requirements of this subdivision relating to firearms.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38001.6. Section 38001.6.

(a) Every school peace officer first employed by a K–12 public school district before July 1, 1999, shall, in order to retain his or her employment, fulfill both of the following conditions: (1) The employee shall submit to the school district one copy of his or her fingerprints on forms prescribed by the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice shall forward this copy to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2) The employee shall be determined to be a person who is not prohibited from employment by a school district pursuant to Sections 44237 and 45122.1, and, if the employee is required to carry a firearm, shall be determined by the Department of Justice to be a person who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm. (b) The Department of Justice may participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in lieu of submitting fingerprints to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to meet the requirements of this section relating to firearms.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38002. Section 38002.

Moneys transferred into the general fund of any school district pursuant to Section 1463.12 of the Penal Code may be made available for the following purposes: (a) The training of persons employed and compensated as members of a police department of a school district, pursuant to the requirements or approval of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. (b) The training of persons employed and compensated as members of a police department of a school district in other public safety skills, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) First aid. (2) Rescue. (3) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (4) Emergency medical technician training. (5) Juvenile procedures. (6) Specialized safety equipment.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38003. Section 38003.

Persons employed and compensated as members of a security or police department of a school district shall be supplied with and authorized to wear a badge bearing the name of the school district. The employee shall carry a suitable identification card bearing his or her photograph and signature and the signature of the superintendent of the school district. The employee shall also carry such other identification data as may be required by local law enforcement agencies. The governing board may direct the wearing of a distinctive uniform and shall prescribe same. The costs of required uniforms, equipment, identification badges, and cards shall be borne by the district.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38004. Section 38004.

The governing board of a school district which establishes a security or police department may provide and maintain motor vehicles for the use of the department. Any vehicle, when operated in the performance of his or her duties by any member of the police department, is an authorized emergency vehicle and may be equipped and operated as such as provided by the Vehicle Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38004.5. Section 38004.5.

The governing board of a school district that establishes a school police department shall not permit the school police department to receive surplus military equipment pursuant to Section 2576a of Title 10 of the United States Code, unless the governing board of the school district does all of the following: (a) Votes to approve the acquisition of surplus military equipment at a regularly scheduled public board meeting. (b) Provides parents or guardians of pupils, and other members of the public, a chance to comment at a regularly scheduled public board meeting on the proposed acquisition of surplus military equipment, and, clearly and in a manner recognizable to the general public, identify in the agenda the topic to be discussed at the meeting. (c) Provides a detailed description of the function and purpose of the surplus military equipment to be received. (d) Identifies safe and secure storage for surplus military equipment to be received by a school police department. (e) Ensures that peace officers employed by a school police department possess adequate training in the safe use and handling of the surplus military equipment to be received.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 38005. Section 38005.

The governing board of any school district may contract with a private licensed security agency to insure the safety of school district personnel and pupils and the security of the real and personal property of the school district when the personnel normally required to provide such service fail to do so because of an emergency including, but not limited to, war, epidemic, fire, flood, or work stoppage; or when such an emergency necessitates additional security services. This section shall apply only if the governing board by a majority vote makes a specific finding that an emergency exists, and that this finding is included in the board minutes.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026