Section 45-9-181 - Mississippi School Safety Guardian Program established; participation in program; immunity of designated school safety guardian; guardian compensation; training(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi School Safety Guardian Act."(2) For purposes of this section:(a) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety.(b) "Governing body" means with respect to any public school district or public charter school, the local school board or charter school board, as applicable; with respect to any private school, the board or other governing body of the private school as provided in the charter, bylaws, or other governing documents of the school.(c) "Program" means a school safety guardian program established by the governing body of a school in accordance with this section.(d) "School" means any public or private educational institution within the State of Mississippi and includes any elementary or secondary school.(e) "Training program" means the School Safety Guardian Training Program established in subsection (3) of this section.(3) There is hereby established the School Safety Guardian Program in the Office of Homeland Security within the department. The department shall administer the program through the Office of Homeland Security. In consultation with the Mississippi Department of Education, the department shall establish the program and promulgate rules, regulations, and establish training requirements.(4) The governing body of a school, in consultation with school administrators and the department, may establish a program under this section. The department or the governing body of a school may discontinue a school's participation in the program at anytime. If the governing body of a school establishes a program under this section, the governing body of a school shall designate employees to participate in the training program developed by the department by which designated and trained school employees are authorized to carry concealed firearms for the protection of the students, employees and others on the campus of the school. The scope and purpose of each program shall include responding to an active shooter situation or other situation that would cause death or serious bodily harm on the school campus or in the immediate vicinity of the school campus. The school safety guardian's weapon shall always remain under his or her physical control on campus.(5) A designated school safety guardian is immune from civil liability for any action taken by the school safety guardian if the action in question occurs during the reasonable exercise of and within the course and scope of the designated School Safety Guardian's official duties. School Safety Guardians are charged with these duties and must act in accordance with these duties to maintain their immunity. If a School Safety Guardian is found to have failed to carry out their official duties, the immunity described in this subsection shall be waived.(6) School Safety Guardians shall be paid a monthly stipend in an amount not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), but not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) by the school district, however, no funds received by school districts under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) shall be used to pay the stipends authorized under this subsection in accordance with the prohibition on the use of such funds as prescribed in Section 13401 of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Public Law 117-159, 117th Congress of the United States, which amends the ESEA (20 USCS Section 7906 (Supp. 2022).(7) To be eligible for the immunity provided in this section: (a) The program, at a minimum, shall require that each designated member of the program who is not a law enforcement officer, as defined in Section 45-6-3, possess a firearms license issued under Section 45-9-101 and the endorsement authorized in Section 97-37-7; has completed instructional training through a law enforcement training academy approved department not less than once every twelve (12) months; and has been CPR and First Aid certified; and(b) The identities of any person designated by the school's governing body to serve as a School Safety Guardian must be documented at the time of the designation and shall be communicated to school administrators and local law enforcement.(8) The department may authorize and certify Mississippi law enforcement training academies to offer the training program to the governing body of a school. (a) The training program, at a minimum, must include: (i) An instructional course developed by the department;(ii) A criminal background check;(iii) A psychological screening;(iv) A shooting proficiency test; and(v) An annual recertification training.(b) A law enforcement training academy may provide School Safety Guardian training to any employee of a school or school district who:(i) Holds a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under Section 45-9-101;(ii) Has an endorsement authorized by Section 97-37-7; and(iii) Has current certification in CPR and First Aid.(c) The department may establish a fee in an amount that is sufficient to cover the costs of the training program under this section to be paid to the training academy by the governing body of the school.(d) The department shall adopt rules to administer this section, including a method to identify license holders who have completed a School Safety Guardian training certification course and setting a fee to be charged by the department for the issuance or reissuance of identification of the license holder as being certified.(e) The department shall adopt rules and regulations that require review of the firearms training policies and procedures of school districts that authorized its employees to carry concealed firearms as part of a school safety program before July 1, 2023. Upon review of such rules and regulations, if the department determines that such district's policies and procedures conform to the department's training standards under the authority of this section, the department shall approve such district's policies and procedures and all employees of such school district that have completed the approved training shall receive all authority and protections provided by this section to carry concealed firearms as part of an approved school safety guardian program. However, if the department determines that such district's policies and procedures fail to conform to the department's training standards under the authority of this section, the employees of the district shall be required to comply with the requirements under this section to carry concealed firearms as part of an approved school safety guardian program.(9) A person who is indicted or charged with a violation of criminal law while acting as a School Safety Guardian may assert as a defense, in addition to any other defense available, that, at the time of the action in question, the person was a certified School Safety Guardian, was then actually engaged in the performance of the person's duties as a School Safety Guardian, and had met the requirements of this section at the time of the action in question.(10) Records relating to the identities of any person designated by the school's governing body to serve as a School Safety Guardian shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.(11) Subject to appropriation and any other requirements provided by law, the Office of Homeland Security may contract with a third-party vendor for mobile phone applications and/or computer equipment or services to accomplish the purposes of this section.Added by Laws, 2023, ch. 458, SB 2079,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2023.