South Carolina § 5-7-12 - School resource officers; procedures for certain arrests; jurisdiction; employment rights.

§ 5-7-12. School resource officers; procedures for certain arrests; jurisdiction; employment rights.

(A) The governing body of a municipality or county may upon the request of another governing body or of another political subdivision of the State, including school districts, designate certain officers to be assigned to the duty of a school resource officer and to work within the school systems of the municipality or county. The person assigned as a school resource officer shall have statewide jurisdiction to arrest persons committing crimes in connection with a school activity or school-sponsored event. In all circumstances in which a school resource officer arrests a student for a misdemeanor offense, the officer may issue a courtesy summons to appear to a student involved in the particular incident in connection with a school activity or school-sponsored event. Notwithstanding another provision of law, a student arrested for a misdemeanor offense by a school resource officer must have a bond hearing in magistrates court within twenty-four hours of his arrest. When acting pursuant to this section and outside of the sworn municipality or county of the school resource officer, the officer shall enjoy all authority, rights, privileges, and immunities, including coverage under the workers' compensation laws that he would have enjoyed if operating in his sworn jurisdiction.

(B) For purposes of this section, a "school resource officer" is defined as a person who is a sworn law enforcement officer pursuant to the requirements of any jurisdiction of this State, who has completed the basic course of instruction for School Resource Officers as provided or recognized by the National Association of School Resource Officers or the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, and who is assigned to one or more school districts within this State to have as a primary duty the responsibility to act as a law enforcement officer, advisor, and teacher for that school district.

HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 435, SECTION 3; 2008 Act No. 267, SECTION 2, eff June 4, 2008.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment, in subsection (A), in the first sentence substituted "another" for "any other" in two places and added the third and fourth sentences relating to student arrests.