Sample MOU for Clarifying School Resource Officer Roles and Expectations

Nationally, and here in Ohio, there has been increasing attention to addressing challenging student behaviors while reducing the “school-to-prison pipeline” and looking to the role of law enforcement in the school setting to better ensure school safety.  Our Center collaborated with several other partners to prepare a sample MOU (memorandum of understanding) for schools to consider using in clarifying roles and expectations of SROs (school resource officers). The development of this State of Ohio Sample SRO MOU was informed by reports and guidance from several agencies and groups, including the Council of State Governments Justice Center, the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Education, as well as members of the Ohio Attorney General’s Criminal Justice and Mental Health Task Force Juvenile Justice Sub-Committee and members of the OSROA (Ohio SRO Association). This Sample MOU, released in 2016, can be found on our website, as well as at the OSROA website and is intended to be a starting point for local school districts to use in developing their own MOUs with law enforcement in order to help ensure safe and healthy schools and successful students. We encourage you to share this resource with your colleagues.

View and Download the Sample MOU

View and Download the Schubert Center’s Cover Page

Reports and guidance used to develop the sample MOU:

  1. The School Discipline Consensus Report, Council of State Governments Justice Center (2014).
  2. Fact Sheet: Memorandum of Understanding for School-Based Partnerships, USDOJ COPS (September 2014).
  3. U.S. Department of Education Guiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline (January 2014).