School district to take part in Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies program
The Lee County School Board gave its nod of approval for the district to seek accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
“Being the leader in this is awesome. Students aren’t learning if they are not feeling safe. Another piece that will allow us to explain to the community that we are serious about safety,” Board member Melisa Giovannelli said at Tuesday’s workshop meeting.
The School District of Lee County would be the first school district in the state of Florida to seek this accreditation, and the largest in the United States.
“I think this is amazing,” Board Chair Sam Fisher said. “I am on board with this.”
Taking this on shows the district’s commitment to safety for students, teachers, and staff, he added.
“This really shows that – a leader in the state and the country,” Fisher said.
Safety, Security and Fleet Operations Chief Dave Newlan shared information with the school board about the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies program. The accreditation is for non-sworn security staff, which would include such areas as security specialist, safety team and guardians.
With the accreditation, Newlan said it would establish a comprehensive process for managing public safety agencies by institutionalizing best practices while ensuring involvement with partners and community.
The cost for the district, at the rate for 24-199 non-sworn full-time employees for the initial accreditation, is $7,565. There is a price tag for an annual continuation of $3,110.
It would take two years to be accredited on the basic, or advanced standard, Newlan said.
CALEA Program Manager Vince Dauro said the campus program is their newest program for nonsworn employees. He said it was established in 2010 with a lot of input from campuses.
“Being our newest, it is our smallest with 1,300 programs accredited through the country and four countries that we serve,” Dauro said.
There are several K-12 in the process with one that has been accredited for a while – Milton Hershey School, the flagship campus.
“The response is it served their agency and governing body very well giving them a format for best operations in the security field,” Dauro said of the best practices for providing security services. “It doesn’t matter if kids are on campus or off campus. Security functions are the same.”
The basic accreditation is for core standards, something smaller agencies go after, while the advance accreditation goes into detail further with correlating tasks with functions.
“The accreditation process is always ongoing. They are constantly asking for things to make sure you are keeping up with requirements,” Newlan said. “You have two years to reach that – strive to get that done faster.”
He said everyone has to embrace the accreditation.
“Our top priority of the district is we want to increase student achievement. That cannot happen if students do not feel safe and secure. I look forward to the process. Thank you for your support,” Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin said.