HB3430, the School Resource Officer Funding Protection Act of 2025, would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to condition a state educational agency’s receipt of full federal education funds on maintaining state funding for school resource officer (SRO) programs in elementary and secondary schools. The bill requires each state educational agency to keep SRO funding at least at the greater of the most recent compliant funding level or the average annual amount spent over the prior five fiscal years.
The bill also requires annual certification and public reporting to the U.S. Department of Education showing state SRO funding levels and the number of SROs in schools over a five-year period. If a state fails to maintain funding and does not receive a waiver, the Secretary of Education must reduce that state’s federal education funding proportionally in the following fiscal year. A waiver may be granted for extraordinary financial circumstances such as a major economic downturn or natural disaster.
Impact
The bill would add a new federal maintenance-of-effort-style requirement to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, specifically tying certain federal education funds to state spending on school resource officer programs. It would affect state educational agencies by requiring them to preserve or increase SRO funding levels, submit compliance certifications, and publish funding and staffing data. It would also give the U.S. Department of Education enforcement authority through proportional funding reductions for noncompliance, while allowing waivers in limited hardship situations.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be framed as a school safety and law-enforcement support bill, with sponsors seeking to protect or stabilize funding for school resource officers. There is no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal bipartisan or partisan sentiment can be measured from proceedings. The introduction and referral indicate the bill was at an early stage and had not yet advanced beyond committee referral.
Contention
The main policy tension is between supporters who view school resource officers as an important school safety resource and critics who may object to federal pressure on states to fund police presence in schools. Potential concerns include local control over education budgets, whether SROs are the best use of school safety funds, and the possibility that the bill could penalize states during fiscal stress. The waiver provision appears designed to address some of those concerns by allowing relief for extraordinary financial circumstances, but the bill still mandates a funding floor and federal enforcement mechanism.
Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the State Board of Education and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the State Board of Education and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
To appropriate money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the State Board of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the several divisions and programs thereof
Requests the Governor to clarify the duties of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and authorize certain actions by the Commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the State Board of Education