Can a Mississippi sheriff's department contract with a private school to provide school resource officers for pay?

Plain-English summary

The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff's Department wanted to know if they could enter a contract with a private, non-profit school to provide school resource officers (SROs) for pay. The AG said no.

Two pieces of the analysis:

1. The school resource officer contracting statute, § 21-19-49(2), does not cover private schools. It says: "Municipalities, municipal police departments and the sheriffs' departments may contract with the school board of any school district to provide additional Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy-certified police protection to said school district on such terms and for such reimbursement as the school district and the entity may agree in their discretion." The AG read "school district" as referring to the public school districts established under Section 201 of the Mississippi Constitution and defined in the Uniform School Law (§§ 37-6-1 et seq.). § 37-6-5 confirms each public school district is a political subdivision. The statute does not reach private, non-profit schools.

2. The sheriff's general duty under § 19-25-67 covers all citizens of the county, and the sheriff cannot charge for it. The AG cited Howard (Dec. 9, 2005) and Rasco (Mar. 5, 2010): "the sheriff has a statutory duty 'to provide police protection to all of the citizens within the county' and cannot contract with private entities to provide increased security." There is no authority for a paid arrangement.

The opinion makes two important clarifications. First, this rule does not stop a sheriff's department from providing law enforcement presence at a private school as part of its general duty to the county; it just means the department cannot charge the school for it. Frierson (Dec. 7, 1995): "no authority exists to provide greater protection to certain areas of the county in return for the residents of those areas making payments to the county to cover the costs of additional protection." But Rasco (Dec. 7, 2009) and the new opinion confirm that allocating sheriff resources to a private school as part of countywide patrol is fine, as long as the school is not paying for it. Second, private schools have other options: they can hire private security, and certified law enforcement officers can do off-duty private security work under § 17-25-11 (with their employing jurisdiction's approval).

What this means for you

If you administer a private school in Mississippi

You cannot pay your county sheriff or municipal police department for an on-campus SRO. Your alternatives:

1. Hire private security. Plenty of licensed companies in Mississippi specialize in school security.
2. Hire off-duty officers individually. Section 17-25-11 lets certified deputies and police officers do off-duty private security with their employing jurisdiction's approval. The officer can wear the uniform and use the cruiser if their agency approves. You pay the officer (or the agency, if that is how the arrangement is structured), and you get someone with police powers on site.
3. Ask the sheriff for general patrol attention. The sheriff may include your campus in regular patrol routes. You cannot pay for it, and the sheriff has full discretion on how to allocate resources, but presence is possible without a contract.

If you are a Mississippi sheriff

Your duty under § 19-25-67 is countywide and does not split among paying versus non-paying communities. You have full discretion on how to allocate deputies (Rasco (Mar. 5, 2010)), but you cannot sell additional protection to a private school. If a private school approaches you about an SRO arrangement, point them toward private security or off-duty officers under § 17-25-11. Document any general-patrol decisions about private school visits as part of your normal allocation, not as a quid pro quo for a payment or donation.

If you are a county supervisor

A board of supervisors does not have any greater authority than the sheriff to contract on this issue. § 21-19-49(2) reaches school districts only. If a private school in your county asks for an SRO contract, the answer has to be the same: not under Mississippi law as it stands.

If you are a school resource officer program manager

The line between public-school SRO contracts (allowed, under § 21-19-49(2)) and private-school paid arrangements (not allowed, under this opinion) matters for your program design. Make sure your written agreements with public school districts use the statutory framework. If you also have private schools in your service area, the relationships with them have to be structured differently: through your agency's off-duty employment policy, or through private security companies, not through your agency's contract authority.

Common questions

Q: Can a private school just call the sheriff for help when something happens?
A: Yes, that is the sheriff's general duty under § 19-25-67. What is barred is a paid contract for ongoing protection. A 911 call or a request for officer response is part of regular law enforcement service.

Q: What if the private school is willing to donate equipment, vehicles, or training instead of paying for the SRO?
A: The AG opinion is about contracts for paid law enforcement protection. A donation that is not tied to providing increased protection would be a separate question. But the Frierson (1995) language about "greater protection . . . in return for residents of those areas making payments to the county to cover the costs" is broad, and a "donation" structured as a payment-in-kind for additional protection would likely fall under the same prohibition. Get a written AG opinion or careful counsel before going down that path.

Q: Can a private school hire an off-duty deputy as a school security officer?
A: Yes, under § 17-25-11. The deputy has to get approval from the sheriff (employee-by-employee, on the record), and the sheriff may impose conditions on the off-duty work. Once approved, the deputy can wear the uniform and use the cruiser (the sheriff also can require reimbursement for vehicle expenses; see the Lee opinion of the same date).

Q: Does this apply to charter schools?
A: This opinion does not directly address charter schools. They are a separate category in Mississippi: public schools, but governed by their own statutes. The reasoning here turns on the public/private divide, and charter schools are public, so § 21-19-49(2) likely reaches them. But because the opinion does not explicitly say so, a county dealing with a charter school SRO contract should confirm.

Q: Could the legislature change this?
A: Yes. The legislature could amend § 21-19-49(2) to include private schools, or pass a separate statute authorizing paid SRO contracts with private schools. Until then, the answer is no.

Q: What if a private school is on the same campus as a public school?
A: The public/private analysis still applies to each entity separately. The sheriff can contract with the public school district under § 21-19-49(2); the contract cannot extend to cover the private school's facilities or students for an extra fee.

Background and statutory framework

Section 21-19-49(2) authorizes contracts for additional law enforcement protection at public schools:

Municipalities, municipal police departments and the sheriffs' departments may contract with the school board of any school district to provide additional Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy-certified police protection to said school district on such terms and for such reimbursement as the school district and the entity may agree in their discretion.

The "school district" reference connects to Section 201 of the Mississippi Constitution and the Uniform School Law (§§ 37-6-1 et seq.). § 37-6-5 expressly classifies each school district as a political subdivision. Private schools are not school districts.

Section 19-25-67 sets the sheriff's duty: keeping the peace within the county. The AG reads this together with prior opinions to mean the sheriff's protection is countywide and cannot be sold or supplemented for pay. Howard (Dec. 9, 2005) and Rasco (Mar. 5, 2010) and Frierson (Dec. 7, 1995) are the supporting line.

Section 17-25-11 is the off-duty private security framework, allowing certified officers to use the official uniform, firearm, and vehicle off-duty with approval.

Citations

• Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-49(2)
• Miss. Code Ann. §§ 37-6-1 et seq.
• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-6-5
• Miss. Code Ann. § 19-25-67
• Miss. Code Ann. § 17-25-11
• MS AG Op., Howard (Dec. 9, 2005)
• MS AG Op., Rasco (Mar. 5, 2010)
• MS AG Op., Rasco (Dec. 7, 2009)
• MS AG Op., Frierson (Dec. 7, 1995)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/S.Barber-April-2-2024-School-Law-Enforcement-Protection-Agreement.pdf

Original opinion text

April 2, 2024
Samuel T. Barber, Esq.
Attorney, DeSoto County Board of Supervisors
Post Office Box 346
Hernando, Mississippi 38632
Re: School Law Enforcement Protection Agreement

Dear Mr. Barber:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Question Presented
May the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff's Department enter into an agreement with a private, non-profit school to provide school resource officers, setting out such terms for reimbursement as may be agreed upon by the parties?

Applicable Law and Discussion
No. There is no authority for a Board of Supervisors or the Sheriff's Department to enter into an agreement with a private, non-profit school to provide additional law enforcement protection and be reimbursed for the associated costs.

Brief Response
Section 21-19-49(2) provides, in relevant part:

Municipalities, municipal police departments and the sheriffs' departments may contract with the school board of any school district to provide additional Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy-certified police protection to said school district on such terms and for such reimbursement as the school district and the entity may agree in their discretion.

The "school districts" in Section 21-19-49 refer to public school districts established pursuant to Section 201 of the Mississippi Constitution and further defined in the Mississippi Uniform School Law. Miss. Code Ann. §§ 37-6-1, et seq.; see § 37-6-5 ("Each school district in the state shall be a political subdivision with the name of the district being '____ School District.'"). Section 21-19-49(2) does not apply to private, non-profit schools.

Section 19-25-67 requires the sheriff to keep the peace within his county. This office has consistently opined that the sheriff has a statutory duty "to provide police protection to all of the citizens within the county" and cannot contract with private entities to provide increased security. MS AG Op., Howard at 1 (Dec. 9, 2005); see MS AG Op., Rasco at 1 (Mar. 5, 2010) (opining that "[t]he sheriff has a statutory duty of keeping the peace within the county and may not charge a fee for doing so."). Accordingly, there is no authority for a board of supervisors or sheriff's department to enter into an agreement to provide school resource officers to a non-profit, private school and seek reimbursement for doing so. For clarification, this opinion and the 2009 Rasco opinion you reference in your request should not be interpreted to suggest that a sheriff's department can provide a school resource officer, increased law enforcement presence, or something akin to private security at private schools as long as he does not charge the school for these services. MS AG Op., Rasco (Dec. 7, 2009); see MS AG Op., Frierson at 1 (Dec. 7, 1995) ("It is the duty of the sheriff to keep the peace within the county . . . and no authority exists to provide greater protection to certain areas of the county in return for the residents of those areas making payments to the county to cover the costs of additional protection."). The sheriff does have "discretion as to how to allocate and deploy the resources of his office." Rasco at 1 (Mar. 5, 2010). However, the authority of the sheriff to provide police protection at a private school within his county falls within his general authority under Section 19-25-67 and is no greater than anywhere else within the county.

Notably, while there is no authority for a county or sheriff's department to contract with a non-profit, private entity to provide increased police protection, there is nothing prohibiting a private school from hiring private security services, and Section 17-25-11 allows certified law enforcement officers to "wear the official uniform and . . . utilize the official firearm and the official vehicle issued by the employing jurisdiction while in the performance of private security services in off-duty hours."

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: /s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General