School safety: armed school resource officers.

Assembly Member Gallagher's school safety legislation mandates that California school districts and charter schools employ armed school resource officers (SROs) at each campus with 50 or more students, implementing a phased approach across grade levels over three years.

The measure establishes specific timelines for SRO placement, beginning with high schools in January 2026, followed by middle schools in 2027, and elementary schools in 2028. These officers, who must qualify as peace officers under state law, would maintain an armed presence during regular school hours and whenever students are on campus. The bill preserves existing provisions allowing districts to operate security departments under a chief of security or police departments led by a school chief of police.

Under the legislation's fiscal framework, districts and charter schools would receive state reimbursement for SRO-related expenses through California's constitutional mandate provisions, rather than drawing from standard educational funding allocations. This requirement adds to, rather than replaces, current options for campus security, which include district security departments that supplement local law enforcement and district police departments staffed by peace officers.