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The Ohio School Resource Officers Association (OSROA) believes that the presence of a properly trained School Resource Officer within a school provides a first line of defense against violence, fosters communication/partnerships between educators, law enforcement, students and parents, and ensures safer and more productive school communities in Ohio.

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Email: osroa@osroa.org
Phone: 1-614-761-3210
Address: 6277 Riverside DR., Suite 2N, Dublin OH 43017

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Accreditation Program

Dear SRO Members:

On behalf of the OSROA Board of Directors I am pleased to announce the Ohio School Resource Officers Association’s SRO Accreditation Program. Over the past few years the OSROA Board of Directors and Membership have identified the need for a program of recognition/accreditation for SROs which would lend credit for their years of service in the SRO field, recognize the school based law enforcement training received at OSROA Annual Conferences and honor the years of dedication to and membership in the Ohio School Resource Officers Association.

Some SROs are in and out of the school after a year or two while others spend most of their career in the school-based policing field. Most police departments and sheriff’s offices do not have accreditation or recognition for years of service/longevity in this field.

In 2014 OSROA worked with Ohio Attorney General DeWine’s office in a Working Group titled Drug Abuse Resistance Education School Based Policing. One of the recommendations that came from this Working Group was the need to recognize school based law enforcement (both D.A.R.E. and School Resource Officers) for their years of service/accomplishments. This recognition could create more of a career ladder for SROs and D.A.R.E. Officers and could assist in promoting and recognizing the fact that school based law enforcement positions are very important within the police department or sheriff’s office ranks. D.A.R.E. Officers currently have a recognition program. Information can be found on the Ohio D.A.R.E. website www.dare-oh.org

There are three accreditation levels in the OSROA SRO Accreditation Program. Each level is accompanied with a certificate, a two-pronged/rubber clutched lapel pin (pin is different for each level) and recognition at the Annual State Conference:

  • The Certified SRO level is for the SRO who is a certified law enforcement officer, has completed SRO Basic Training through OSROA and is a current member of OSROA. All SROs who have completed SRO Basic Training have obtained this level. SROs completing the SRO Basic Training in October 2014 or after have received the Certified SRO level pin (date of the start of the program).

  • The Professional SRO level recognizes the SRO who has met all of the Certified SRO requirements PLUS four or more years of verifiable cumulative SRO duty, attendance at two of four OSROA Annual Conferences during the four years as SRO, at least two years of paid membership in OSROA during the four years as SRO and signatures from his/her chief/sheriff and principal verifying the four years of SRO duty.

  • The Master SRO level recognizes the SRO who has met all of the Certified SRO requirements PLUS seven years or more of verifiable cumulative SRO duty, attendance at four of seven OSROA Annual Conferences during the seven years as SRO, at least four years of paid membership in OSROA during the seven years as SRO and signatures from his/her chief/sheriff and principal verifying the seven years of SRO duty.

The OSROA SRO Accreditation Program application should be completed and returned to the OSROA office by fax, US Mail or email (osroa@osroa.org ) where all criteria and information will be verified by the OSROA Membership Programs Director. After verification a letter of congratulations/approval will be sent to the SRO and a letter of commendation/congratulations will be sent to the SROs chief/sheriff and school principal.

The SRO Accreditation Program certificate and pin recognizing the level of accreditation will be awarded for all levels at the Annual Summer Conference.  Any awardees who cannot attend the Conference will be mailed their pin and certificate after the Conference.

We look forward to receiving your SRO Accreditation Program application soon!

Thank you,

Steve Burgess
Executive Director

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