Osceola County Schools discuss with authorities recommendation of resource officers wearing cameras

Special committee made recommendation mid-April

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Leaders with Osceola County Public Schools met with law enforcement on Thursday to discuss the recommendations of a resident advisory committee.

The School Resource Officer Citizens Advisory Task Force was formed after cellphone video captured an Osceola County deputy slamming a Liberty High School student to the ground in January.

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The group finalized a list of 20 recommendations last month, however Thursday’s conversation was mainly focused on the topic of exploring a guardian program in charter schools.

“It’s an open discussion on having options to allow charter schools to independently police their own,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said.

The county’s three law enforcement agencies have advocated for a guardian program to alleviate staffing restrictions and allow charter schools to save money.

“The reality of the situation is that this is having a huge impact on the rest of the operations,” Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O’Dell said.

Some school board members voiced concerns about a change in security for students, teachers and staff.

“I’m specifically concerned about training,” School Board Member Terry Castillo said. “Who’s providing the training? What’s the training going to be like?”

Ultimately, a decision was made to further explore the discussion with charter school representatives.

District leaders said they’ll be looking at all the task force recommendations at future workshop and expect to make firm decisions on some issues over the next six weeks.


About the Author:

Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.

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