Virginia Law

A. School security officer instructors shall ensure that training sessions are conducted in accordance with requirements established in this chapter. Adherence to the administrative requirements, attendance, and standards of conduct are the responsibility of the instructor of the training session.

B. Administrative requirements.

1. In a manner approved by the department, an approved instructor must submit a notification to conduct a training session to the department. All notifications shall be received by the department, or postmarked if mailed, no less than 30 calendar days before the beginning of each training session to include the date, time, instructors, and location of the training session. The department may allow a training session to be conducted with less than 30 calendar days of notification with prior approval.

2. The instructor must submit notification of any changes to the date, time, location, or cancellation of a future training session to the department in writing. This notice must be received by the department at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled starting time of the class. In the event that a session must be cancelled on the scheduled date, the department must be notified immediately followed by a cancellation in writing as soon as practical.

3. A test determined by the department shall be administered at the conclusion of each module of the entry-level training session. The student must attain a grade of 80% on each module. All tests must be returned to the department with the accompanying training roster and attendance records in a manner approved by the department.

4. In a manner approved by the department, the instructor shall submit an original training completion roster to the department listing testing scores and attendance records for each student. The training completion roster shall be received by the department within seven calendar days, or postmarked if mailed, no later than five business days following the training completion date.

5. Instructors will conduct training sessions utilizing lesson plans developed by the department including at a minimum the compulsory minimum training standards established pursuant to this chapter. Instructors must maintain accurate and current information on relevant laws and make changes to the curriculum. It is the instructor's responsibility to assure they have the most recent curriculum supplied by the department.

6. Instruction shall be provided in no less than four-hour sessions for a combined total certification course of 32 hours.

7. A training session must adhere to the minimum compulsory training standards and must be presented in its entirety.

8. The instructor shall permit the department to inspect and observe any training session.

9. Mandated training conducted not in accordance with the Code of Virginia and this chapter is invalid.

C. Attendance.

1. School security officers enrolled in an approved training session are required to be present for the hours required for each training session.

2. Tardiness and absenteeism will not be permitted. Individuals violating these provisions will be required to make up any training missed. Such training must be completed within 60 days after the completion of the training session or at the next available session offered if it is held in the same school year. Individuals not completing the required training within this period may not be certified or recertified and may be required to complete the entire training session.

3. Individuals who do not successfully complete the compulsory minimum training standards of the training session shall be reported to the department and will not be certified.

4. Each individual attending an approved session shall comply with the regulations promulgated by the board and any other rules applicable to the session. If the instructor considers a violation of the rules detrimental to the training of other students or to involve cheating on tests, the instructor may expel the individual from the session. The instructor shall immediately report such action to the employing locality and the department.