ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A state audit is recommending that Orange County Public Schools maintain attendance records to demonstrate that at least one school resource officer is present at each school every day.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the school board will hear details about a report from the Florida Auditor General.
The operational audit, which is conducted every three years, found that district records continue to lack documented verification that at least one officer is present at each campus during school hours.
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State law mandates an armed safe-school officers in all schools, but documenting SRO attendance isn’t covered under the statute.
Nine law enforcement agencies provide SROs throughout the district, however some of the agencies have declined requests to document attendance at schools.
The State Auditor’s report suggested the district could not demonstrate compliance with state law without effective SRO attendance monitoring.
A similar finding was also included in the previous report from 2022.
District 3 School Board Member Alicia Farrant said while there isn’t an attendance log for SROs, procedures have been put in place to confirm SRO daily attendance.
“I’ve spoken with district leadership. We have people in place to ensure that there is an SRO always on campus and verifying that the SRO is there,” Farrant said.
The State Auditor recommended that the district include contract provisions with agencies to require the maintenance of SRO attendance records.
Tuesday’s school board meeting is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.