(J) Teachers, Administrators designated as School Protection Officers.

(i) Any county school board within the state may designate up to two elementary or three secondary school teachers or administrators per school in the county as a school protection officer. The responsibilities and duties of a school protection officer are voluntary and shall be in addition to the normal responsibilities and duties of the teacher or administrator and does not entitle them to any additional compensation.

(ii) Any person designated by a county school board as a school protection officer shall be authorized to carry a concealed firearm only at a school or schools where they teach or serve as an administrator. The school protection officer may not be permitted to allow any firearm out of his or her personal control while that firearm is on school property. Any school protection officer who violates this subsection may be removed immediately from the classroom and subject to employment termination proceedings.

(iii) Any teacher or administrator of an elementary or secondary school who seeks to be designated as a school protection officer shall request that designation in writing and submit it to the superintendent of the county school board which employs him or her as a teacher or administrator. Along with this request, any teacher or administrator seeking to carry a concealed firearm on school property shall also submit proof that he or she has a valid West Virginia concealed carry permit.

(iv) The West Virginia Department of Homeland Security shall develop an education and training program specifically designed for teachers and administrators, similar in nature to the training program offered to Prevention Resource Officers, that shall include criteria defining the duties and responsibilities of school protection officers, and that all teachers and administrators seeking the designation of school protection officer shall be required to attend and successfully complete. The training program shall be offered at least once a year during a time when the majority of county schools are out-of-class and shall consist of at least 32 hours of training, of which 16 hours shall be in person and shall include a written test at the conclusion of the training program and that any teacher or administrator seeking to be designated as a school protection officer must pass. The Department of Homeland Security may charge a fee of no more than $195 per attendee for this training class to the county school board seeking the designation and the county school board may require some or all of the fee to be paid by the teacher or administrator seeking the designation as a school protection officer.

(v) All teachers and administrators seeking the designation as a school protection officer shall attend and complete an advanced firearms and use of force training program to be developed and provided by the Sheriff, or his or her designated deputy, of the county where the teacher or administrator will be serving as a school protection officer and said program shall consist of at least 8 hours of in person training by a certified law enforcement officer on the use of force, tactical firearms skills, and that the teacher or administrator must qualify with the firearm that the school protection officer will carry at his or her school. The cost of ammunition to complete this training and annual qualification shall be paid for by the county school board who may charge some or all of that cost to the teacher or administrator seeking the designation or continued qualification as a school protection officer.

(vi) Any county school board that designates a teacher or administrator as a school protection officer shall provide written notice to the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security of said designation and the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security shall provide a written acknowledgment of receipt of that designation back to the county school board within 10 days; the written notice from the county school board to the Department shall include:

(1) The full name, date of birth, and address of the school protection officer;

(2) The county school board and the name of the school(s) where the officer will serve as a school protection officer; and

(3) The date that the person designated as a school protection officer completed his or her Department of Homeland Security training program and his or her use of force and advanced firearms training as prescribed by this code section.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, any identifying information collected under the authority of this subsection may not be considered public information and may not be subject to a request for public records.

(vii) The county school board must confirm the following before permitting a school protection officer designee to carry a concealed firearm at his or her school:

(1) that the officer has successfully completed the Department of Homeland Security training program and the advanced firearms training class established by the Sherriff in the county where the school protection officer will serve;

(2) that the school protection officer has a valid West Virginia concealed carry permit;

(3) that the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security has provided written confirmation to the school that the Department is aware of the designation of the school protection officer.

(viii) Every school protection officer shall be required to recertify his or her qualification with the firearm he or she will carry at his or her school with the Sheriff, or his or her designated deputy, in the county where his or her school is located, each school year prior to the first day of class for students and the Sheriff or his or her designee, shall report the results of that qualification to the principal of the school or schools where the school protection officer works and to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. If a school protection officer fails to qualify with his or her firearm annually, his or her designation as school protection officer shall be immediately suspended and the school protection officer shall not be permitted to carry a concealed firearm at school until he or she is able to qualify with the firearm that he or she will carry at school and that qualification is confirmed in writing by the Sheriff to the school principal(s) where the school protection officer works and to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. A school protection officer that desires to carry a new or different firearm at school must first qualify on a range with a certified law enforcement officer employed by the county Sheriff’s office where that school protection officer works and that qualification shall be provided by the Sherriff in writing to the school principal(s) where that school protection officer works and to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security before the school protection officer will be permitted to carry the newly requested firearm at his or her school(s).

(ix) A county school board may revoke the designation of a person as a school protection officer for any reason and shall immediately notify the designated school protection officer in writing of the revocation. The county school board shall also immediately notify the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security in writing of the revocation of the designation of such person as a school protection officer. A person who applies to be a school protection officer and is denied that designation or has had the designation of school protection officer revoked does not have the right to file a grievance but may appeal the denial or revocation decision to the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security who has final decision authority.

(x) The Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security shall maintain a listing of all persons designated by county school boards as school protection officers, and what schools they serve, and shall make this list available to all law-enforcement agencies in the county where they serve.

(xi) Before a county school board may begin the process to designate and qualify any teacher or administrator as a school protection officer, the school board shall hold a public hearing on whether to allow the designation of a school protection officer to be made in that county school board. Notice of that hearing shall be given via newspaper publication, email to parents, and a note home to parents at least 15 days before the date of the hearing. Provided, That the identity of any potential school protection officer(s) is not to be made public and is not for consideration by the school board.