Erie 1 BOCES Labor Relations Specialist Presents to School Resource Officers

As he presented about legal issues facing law enforcement in school settings, Erie 1 BOCES senior labor relations specialist Brian Doyle told a group of new school resource officers their work could present challenges they have not faced before in their law enforcement careers.

“They’re different worlds, and you got to keep that in mind,” he said.

Doyle, whose career included 27 years in law enforcement, presented to new and early career school resource officers as part of training held by the Committee on Policing and Safeguarding Schools, an organization formed by the New York State Sheriff’s Association. Doyle spoke during a training event on July 26 at the Niagara County Law Enforcement Academy, which is located on the campus of Niagara County Community College.

Student information and records fall under a number of privacy regulations at the state and federal level, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and New York’s Section 2-d.

“There is a lot of guidance about protecting the privacy and confidentiality of those records, and knowing when information from those records can be shared in an emergency situation,” Doyle said.

School resource officers also have to navigate differences in rules in school matters and police investigation activities throughout their day, Doyle said, which requires coordination between officers and their department and school district leadership.

Having an attorney with Doyle’s background present to the school resource officers is “huge for us,” said Jonathan R. Becker, program director for the committee.

“Having that actual real life experience in the classroom has been helpful in the past, and that's why we continue our partnership with BOCES and their partners throughout the state,” Becker said.

The Committee on Policing and Safeguarding Schools partnered with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services to update the curriculum for SRO Basic School Certification, and the committee trains approximately 200 school resource officers across the state each year.

More information about the work of Erie 1 BOCES’ Labor Relations Division can be found at https://www.e1b.org/en/administrative-services/labor-relations-services.aspx.