Logo courtesy of Yuba County

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) – The Yuba County Civil Grand Jury praised School Resource Officers as an important part of campus safety across Yuba County while recommending reforms to standardize the growing program's policies, oversight and performance measures.

The 2025-26 Yuba County Civil Grand Jury examined the School Resource Officer program, which has operated through the Yuba County Sheriff's Department for approximately five to six years, through interviews with school administrators, assigned officers and Sheriff's Department leadership, as well as visits to campuses throughout the county.

"The Grand Jury found broad support for the SRO program among school staff, SROs, and Sheriff Department leadership," jurors wrote. "Interviewees consistently described the program as valuable for campus safety, relationship-building, attendance intervention, and coordination with school administration."

That support came with a caveat. Jurors concluded the program has expanded through separate agreements with participating school districts into a system that works well but has outgrown the policies governing it. The review covered the Sheriff's Department School Resource Officer program serving Lindhurst High School, Marysville High School, Wheatland High School, Yuba College and middle and elementary schools throughout Yuba County.

The report found School Resource Officers now fill roles extending well beyond traditional law enforcement. In addition to responding to emergencies, officers mentor students, assist with attendance intervention and work with school administrators on campus safety. As those responsibilities have evolved, jurors concluded the absence of standardized role definitions has resulted in varying expectations and practices among participating campuses.

Jurors found schools generally address lower-level student misconduct administratively, involving law enforcement only when incidents become more serious or clearly criminal.

"The Grand Jury found that this flexibility may be beneficial, but the absence of documented, standardized thresholds creates a risk of inconsistency across sites and cases," jurors wrote.

Jurors also found the program lacks standardized performance measures, formal role definitions and centralized oversight. The report recommended participating agencies develop written protocols governing student discipline and behavioral health responses, establish uniform performance metrics and evaluate creating centralized program oversight, including a dedicated supervisory position, by Dec. 31, 2026.

Despite recommending those changes, jurors concluded the program has become a valuable part of school safety throughout Yuba County.

"The Grand Jury commends the Yuba County Sheriff Department, the Marysville Police Department, participating school districts, school administrators, and assigned SROs for building a program that is widely viewed as beneficial to student safety and campus operations," jurors wrote.

Under California law, the Yuba County Sheriff must respond to the report within 60 days. Within 90 days, the Marysville Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees and the Wheatland Union High School District Board of Trustees also must respond. The Grand Jury invited responses from the Marysville Police Chief, the superintendents of the Marysville Joint Unified School District, Wheatland Union High School District and Yuba County Office of Education, and the principals of Lindhurst, Marysville and Wheatland high schools.