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Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for School District and Law Enforcement Agency

Sample MOU that defines a local law enforcement agency's role in schools

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a document that memorializes an agreement between two or more parties. For an Illinois school district, this is generally in the form of an intergovernmental agreement for joint programs with other units of local government or public bodies to obtain or share services and to exercise, combine, or transfer any power or function, in any manner not prohibited by law or by ordinance.

IASB’s PRESS has a sample MOU that defines a local law enforcement agency’s role in schools as encouraged by 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14(b) amended by P.A. 99-456, eff. Sept. 15, 2016. It also describes the respective duties of a school district and its local law enforcement agencies. Its overarching purpose is to prevent confusion, decrease conflict, and promote school safety with best practice sample terms that school districts may modify to meet their local needs.

The PRESS MOU is published for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. For legal advice or a legal opinion on a specific question, consult a lawyer.

Get your free copy. Email [email protected] with the subject line: PRESS MOU

Upon receiving your copy, you agree to the following terms of use of the IASB PRESS MOU:
For use without adaptation, please provide the following credit:

  • Reprinted, with permission, from Policy Reference Education Subscription Service. © 2016. Illinois Association of School Boards. All rights reserved.

For use with adaptations*, please provide the following credit: 

  • Adapted, with permission, from Policy Reference Education Subscription Service. © 2016. Illinois Association of School Boards. All rights reserved.

*Adaptations do not include modifying the document as instructed with a school board attorney for a school district to use with its local law enforcement agency. Adaptation does include, but is not limited to, adding or subtracting sample terms for use as another sample MOU.

Improving Memoranda of Understanding for School Resource Officer Services

The article's goal is to assist for school officials, local law enforcement agencies, and school attorneys review or create their memoranda of understanding (MOU). Currently, many school officials and the communities they serve are increasingly concerned about how to balance school safety needs with students' constitutional rights. Achieving an appropriate balance is critical to avoiding litigation and to achieving an environment focused on student learning. In addition, communication and coordination can help reduce the troubling flow of young people into the criminal justice system as a result of relatively minor school discipline issues better left to school officials.

Miranda & Student Interrogations: To Warn or Not to WARN

Reprinted, with permission, from Inquiry and Analysis. © 2013. National Association of School Boards. All rights reserved.

IASB wishes to thank and acknowledge the ICSA Executive Committee and the IASB PRESS SB100 Committee who peer reviewed the MOU.