School resource officers return to 6 Edmonton public high schools after program suspended in 2020

School resource officers (SROs) have returned to six Edmonton Public Schools more than four years after the board halted the program.

The move comes after the division voted last year to explore Edmonton Police Service officers having a formal role in schools again.

“Very early in the fall, schools had to identify if they felt their school community would be ready to welcome an SRO,” policy executive Nancy Peterson told trustees at a meeting on Tuesday.

“Schools went back and they connected with staff, students and families, and they talked about the opportunity to have this staffing role as a part of their school team, and if they felt that their school community was ready.”

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The program was put on hold in 2020 after trustees requested an independent review.

The board says since then it has taken into account feedback from parents and students to create an evaluation framework.

A phase 1 evaluation will take place until June, with a report coming to the board in the fall.

The report will focus on school readiness, orientation, training and welcoming SROs into the school community.

“This does give us an opportunity to take a look at our successes in areas for improvement in stage one with the introduction of additional officers, but our intention is to continue to evaluate yearly,” superintendent Darrel Robertson said.

“I would just remind everyone as well that the schools have the ability, in a site based model, to determine whether or not they would like a school resource officer in their school.”

A phase 2 evaluation period will take place from September to June 2026 with six additional high schools welcoming SROs.

That report will be presented at a board meeting in fall 2026.

Edmonton Public Schools says the goal of the SRO program is to positively and equitably impact the sense of belonging, safety and well-being of students.