Class Three SLEO – What is It? Signed by Gov. Christie in November 2016, the new Class Three SLEO law established a new type of school security personnel. Class Three SLEOs will be hired for the explicit purpose of providing security at public or nonpublic schools when schools are in session or occupied by students or staff. They will also be authorized to provide security at the state’s county colleges.

Enactment of the legislation was the culmination of a years-long effort by stakeholders from the education and law enforcement communities, with the backing of the two task forces charged with improving school security.

The Class Three SLEO concept was originally developed by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP), which envisioned the position as an SLEO who would receive additional, specialized training and be assigned to schools. NJSACOP presented the idea to the New Jersey School Board Association’s School Security Task Force and later to the New Jersey School Security Task Force. While making clear their belief that the employment of a school resource officer is the ideal choice if a local board of education decides to institute an armed law enforcement presence in a school, both task forces ultimately endorsed the Class Three SLEO proposal.