Modesto City Schools will form an eight-member security team by next fall to patrol its high schools. 

The proposal passed with a unanimous vote of the Modesto City Schools Board, reports the Modesto Bee. 

“In no way shape or form are we saying these positions are the same as a police officer,” said Ed Miller, the district head of discipline cases and attendance who will oversee school security. They will have training and authority well beyond campus supervisors, however.

Team members will be required to have state certification for school security officers, which covers campus-specific issues, as well as training to handle firearms and recognize signs of a student on drugs or drunk. Each of the seven large district high schools will have a security officer, with a supervisor stationed at Elliott Alternative Education Center, said the Modesto  Bee. 

School security officers will not carry guns, but will have handcuffs, pepper spray and batons. The team would patrol nearby parks or neighborhoods primarily for student safety, just as principals and assistant principals do now, the report said.