South Carolina Achieves Goal of Armed Officer in Every Public School

South Carolina has secured the final funding necessary to place a full-time, armed, and certified school resource officer (SRO) in every public school across the state. The announcement was made by state and local leaders, marking the culmination of a multi-year effort to enhance school safety.

The initiative, a top priority for state leadership since 2018, has steadily increased the number of SROs from just 406 statewide to a planned full coverage of all 1,283 public schools. In a move to improve coordination, the program’s management was transferred from the Department of Education to the Department of Public Safety (SCDPS).

At the start of the current school year, 1,106 schools had full-time SROs, leaving 177 without coverage. The General Assembly recently appropriated an additional $29.4 million to fund these remaining positions. Following this funding, SCDPS immediately awarded funds for 58 new SROs and has released a solicitation for the remaining 119 positions, which school districts will fill throughout the year.

This achievement places South Carolina as a national leader in school safety. The state’s commitment to protecting students, teachers, and staff has been a bipartisan effort, with strong support from both legislative bodies.

The new funding is part of a broader commitment to school safety. Additional initiatives secured by the state government include:

• Center for School Safety and Targeted Violence: A center within the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) that provides training on active shooter response and violence prevention for law enforcement and school personnel.
• School Safety Upgrades: The state has provided $20 million annually in grants for schools to improve security features, such as locks, secured entry points, and bulletproof glass.
• School Mapping Program: A new $5 million program that provides 911 operators with real-time digital maps of school campuses, allowing first responders to locate incidents more quickly.

The state is moving forward with filling the remaining SRO positions as districts are able to staff them, with the ultimate goal of ensuring every public school has dedicated, on-site protection.