South Carolina secures funds for school resource officers in every public school

COLUMBIA, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Every public school in South Carolina will now have a full-time, armed school resource officer, thanks to final funding secured by state leaders.

“For years, we have made it our mission to ensure that every student, teacher, and staff member is protected by an armed, certified, full-time school resource officer in every school, in every county, all day, every day, and now we have finished the job,” Governor McMaster announced at a news conference alongside law enforcement officials and members of the General Assembly.

Back in 2018, the governor set out to put a full-time SRO in each of South Carolina’s 1,283 public schools. At the time, only 406 schools had one. Since then, funding has steadily increased, and responsibility for managing the program has been transferred from the Department of Education to the Department of Public Safety (SCDPS).

As of the 2024-2025 school year, 1,106 schools had SROs, with 177 still without coverage. This year, lawmakers approved $29.4 million to cover the remaining schools.

Since receiving that money in July, SCDPS has already funded 58 new positions. The remaining 119 are now open and will be filled throughout the year as schools hire qualified officers.

With funding secured and staffing underway, South Carolina is now closer to meeting its goal.