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Police and the Schools

School Resource Officers In Charlottesville City Schools

In March 2025, the School Board voted to restore School Resource Officers to the Cville Schools safety model. Beginning in August 2026, in addition to maintaining all elements of our current safety plan – including our robust mental wellness staff, plus Care & Safety Assistants – we will have specially selected and trained School Resource Officers (SROs).

After reviewing feedback from key stakeholders, including CHS students, the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee has now developed a draft agreement – called a Memorandum of Understanding – with the Charlottesville Police Department, outlining roles, responsibilities, procedures, and shared values.

We are now entering a period of public engagement to ensure that this MOU meets the needs and values of our schools and community. A community event, "Can I Talk to You Cville," will take place on Tuesday, August 26, from 5-7pm at Trailblazer Elementary. Moderated by Charles Lewis, this session will answer questions and gather feedback.

Find Draft Memorandum of Understanding with CPD

Submit a Question or Feedback about this Draft MOU


 

Poster announcing a discussion about SROs returning to Charlottesville City Schools. Event is on Tuesday, August 26 from 5-7pm at Trailblazer Elementary

Frequently Asked Questions about the Draft Memorandum of Understanding

  • Since the removal of SROs from our safety model in 2020, we have seen many successes, but there have also been challenges. The decision to return SROs to our schools in August 2026 has focused on four main “pain points” of our current model:

    • Educators must handle responsibilities traditionally managed by police.
    • Schools rely on available police officers instead of specially selected and trained officers who work onsite to build relationships with school staff, students, and families.
    • School staff face administrative burdens to call, brief, and schedule police when assistance is needed.
    • In critical situations, an officer is not already on site.

  • The plan is to have SROs based in our high school and middle school in August 2026. This fall, we are seeking feedback on this draft agreement with the police (the MOU, or Memorandum of Understanding). We are also working to develop the Standard Operating Procedures to further guide day-to-day interactions between SROs, school staff, students, and families. Based on the final agreement, the budget process begins (since SROs are police employees, we expect these expenses to be part of the City’s CPD budget). Then comes hiring and training to make sure we are ready to implement the program in August 2026.

  • The agreement calls for two SROs based at Charlottesville High School, one based at the new Charlottesville Middle School, and an SRO supervisor to float among schools as needed.

  • The SROs will join – not replace – our much-loved CSAs and mental health professionals. We are keeping the other elements of our current safety model, which relies on: CSAs, mental health supports, positive school culture, common-sense building safety upgrades, and community partnerships.

  • The SROs are CPD employees, but Charlottesville City Schools will be part of the SRO selection process. Both parties acknowledge that the right “fit” – and the right training – are key to this program’s success.

  • SROs will complete all police training, and they will have extra courses to assure they understand how to work with youth in areas such as relationship-building, mental health awareness, de-escalation, restorative justice, and more. They will also be trained in school processes to make sure they understand how school staff promote a positive school culture and address everyday issues.

  • Yes – they are required for all sworn CPD officers. This is a national practice for SROs without exception. Having said that, officers will use safety harnesses designed to prevent accidental removal or usage of the gun.

  • This draft agreement rests on a shared commitment to restorative justice and avoiding criminal justice processes whenever possible. This agreement also is clear that SROs are not part of our student disciplinary process – they are there to promote safety while building relationships and completing safety-related tasks.

  • The Charlottesville Police Department and Charlottesville City Schools agree that the principal is the head of building. School administrators are the school employees who direct the work of the school SROs, except in true emergency situations.

  • SROs will not have access to the schools’ student information system. The draft agreement describes the circumstances when school staff can share information with the police.

  • We have been following all national developments as we created this draft MOU. Locally, Police Chief Kochis has stated that the CPD will not agree to assist federal entities such as ICE. As part of the MOU, either the CCS or CPD may terminate or pause this agreement at any time to remove SROs if local conditions or actions beyond local control create circumstances that conflict with the goals of the MOU.

  • In August and September, we are actively seeking feedback to make sure that this draft MOU reflects our community’s needs and values. You can complete a feedback form here. In addition, on August 26, we’ll co-host a community conversation moderated by Charles Lewis. We are also looking at other schools’ solutions for ways that staff, students, and families can share ongoing feedback (positive or negative) about our safety practices once SROs are back in the school. 

  • School administrators can report concerns at any time to the Sergeant for the SRO unit and/or notify CCS division administration. CCS division administrators have a close working relationship with our CPD liaison to address concerns that impact our school community and the community at-large. In addition, the MOU calls for quarterly performance review meetings & reports.

  • Recent and Next Steps:

    • Summer 2025: Family Engagement with Disproportionately Impacted Communities
    • August 7: Update about MOU Development to School Board
    • August: Continued Student/Staff/Community Engagement about Draft MOU
      • August 26: Can I Talk to You Cville Event
    • September 4: Update about MOU Finalization to School Board
    • Fall/Winter: City budget development
    • August 2026: Schools open with school resource officers added to current safety model 

More Resources

  • Staff who were part of the work group to develop the draft Memorandum of Understanding gave a presentation to the School Board on August 7, 2025.

  • February 6, 2025: Results of CCS safety audit presented to School Board with process for developing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Charlottesville Police Department and receiving community feedback. 

    • Summary from February 6 Mini-Minutes:
      Safety Audit Action Steps (including Decision-Making Process for SROs). Ms. Kim Powell, Chief Operations Officer, presented the results of this fall’s safety audit conducted by the firm Navigate 360. The audit described strengths of our current safety protocols, as well as areas for improvement, including recommendations for additional training, recovery planning, infrastructure improvement, and youth resource officers. Concerning the decision-making for youth (or school) resource officers, a "Procedure for Review of School Safety & Security" document details the process developed to evaluate whether School Resource Officers should be included in the safety model. It includes background information as well as a process for a staff working group to work with the Charlottesville Police Department to research best practices, develop a model Memorandum of Understanding as well as budgetary impact, consult with impacted stakeholders, and seek a Board decision (likely in October 2025).
    • Link to presentation slides
    • Link to video of the presentation/discussion


    March 12, 2025: Staff working group met to begin discussions about possible return of SROs to schools.

    • Summary of staff Working Group Meeting March 12:
      The agenda explored the following: 
      • Pros and cons of school resource officers, considering people's experiences with them. 
      • Existing vulnerabilities and areas of concern. 
      • Actionable next steps. 
      • Effective practices and key considerations
    • The working group included staff members from:  
      • CCS: Alternative Education, Communications, Equity & Family Engagement, Mental & School Wellness, Restorative Justice, Safety and Security, School Leadership,  Student Services  
      • City Staff: Commonwealth Attorney & Deputy Commonwealth Attorney 
      • Charlottesville Police Department was not part of the meeting but provided input and answers to questions.
    • Slides from meeting

     

    March 27, 2025: The Board voted to restore SROs to the CCS safety model.

     

    May 16, 2025: Superintendent’s Advisory Committee met to discuss feedback from stakeholders and review sample Memorandums of Understanding between schools and police

    • Summary of meeting from May News & Highlights
      As a follow-up to the Board's March 27 decision to restore school resource officers to our safety model, the superintendent's advisory committee met to discuss feedback from stakeholders, including student focus groups recently held during some health and English classes. Next steps include drafting a MOU and soliciting public feedback.
    • Slides from meeting

     

    June 16, 2025: Superintendent’s Advisory Committee met to review a draft MOU and discuss planned community engagement to seek feedback. 

    • Summary of meeting to come
    • Slides from meeting to come

    • In June 2020, School Board, the City, and the City Police Department issued a joint statement   ending our MOU and calling for a time of public discussion to chart the best pathway forward. 
    • Summer/Fall 2020, public engagement began to develop a new model, concluding with hiring/training of “care and safety assistants.” The framework of this safety model relies on
      • Community-building and relationship-building
      • Mental health supports
      • Care and Safety Assistants
      • Community partnerships, including with the police
      • Continual investment in building security upgrades
    • Fall 2020 - August 2021: schools were largely virtual
    • August 2021- ongoing: Continued feedback and improvement of CCS safety model along with discussion of “pain points” of a safety model without SROs. The pain points focused on these staff reports:
      • Educators must handle responsibilities traditionally managed by police.
      • Schools rely on available police officers instead of specially selected and trained officers who work onsite to build relationships with school staff, students, and families.
      • School staff face administrative burdens to call, brief, and schedule police when assistance is needed.
      • In a critical situation, a police officer would not already be on site.
    • February 2024, a survey of the community indicated that 60% of respondents “strongly” or “very strongly” supported exploring the possibility of having Youth Resource Officers (YROs) in our schools and the community (vs. 25% "strongly" or "very strongly" opposed to learning more).
    • March 2024: In keeping with community support shown on the February 2024 survey about school safety,  CCS and CPD continued learning more about the "community resource officer" model for school-police partnership. Find a summary in the mini-minutes for March 7, 2024.
    • May 30, 2024:  The Board voted unanimously to postpone a vote on adding Youth Resource Officers to the CCS safety plan until March 27, 2025 to allow time for further engagement as well as progress reports in October and December. 
    • August 2024: As part of the Board’s earlier request for an evaluation of our current safety model, the division posted a request for proposals for professional services to assist with an audit. For results, see “Recent Developments, Spring 2025,” above.