(a) The Board shall develop or approve a course for school resource officers as defined in Section 10-20.68 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/10-20.68].

(b) The school resource officer course shall be developed within one year after January 1, 2019 (the effective date of Public Act 100-984) and shall be created in consultation with organizations demonstrating expertise and or experience in the areas of youth and adolescent developmental issues, educational administrative issues, prevention of child abuse and exploitation, youth mental health treatment, and juvenile advocacy.

(c) The Board shall develop a process allowing law enforcement agencies to request a waiver of this training requirement for any specific individual assigned as a school resource officer. Applications for these waivers may be submitted by a local law enforcement agency chief administrator for any officer whose prior training and experience may qualify for a waiver of the training requirement of this subsection (c). The Board may issue a waiver at its discretion, based solely on the prior training and experience of an officer.

(d) Upon completion, the employing agency shall be issued a certificate attesting to a specific officer's completion of the school resource officer training. Additionally, a letter of approval shall be issued to the employing agency for any officer who is approved for a training waiver under this subsection (d).

(a) In this Section, "school resource officer" means a law enforcement officer who has been primarily assigned to a school or school district under an agreement with a local law enforcement agency.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2021, any law enforcement agency that provides a school resource officer under this Section shall provide to the school district a certificate of completion, or approved waiver, issued by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board under Section 10.22 of the Illinois Police Training Act [50 ILCS 705/10.22] indicating that the subject officer has completed the requisite course of instruction in the applicable subject areas within one year of assignment, or has prior experience and training which satisfies this requirement.

(c) In an effort to defray the related costs, any law enforcement agency that provides a school resource officer should apply for grant funding through the federal Community Oriented Policing Services grant program.

(c-5) School districts shall make reasonable efforts to provide ongoing professional development to teachers, administrators, school board members, school resource officers, and staff on the adverse consequences of school exclusion and justice-system involvement, effective classroom management strategies, culturally responsive discipline, the appropriate and available supportive services for the promotion of student attendance and engagement, and developmentally appropriate disciplinary methods that promote positive and healthy school climates.