H.R. 3430 — SRO Funding Protection Act of 2025

This section establishes a maintenance-of-effort requirement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) conditioning a state educational agency's (SEA's) receipt of full ESEA program funds, beginning in the first fiscal year after enactment, on maintaining state funding for school resource officer (SRO) programs in elementary and secondary schools at not less than the greater of (1) the amount expended by the SEA for such programs in the most recent prior fiscal year in which the SEA either complied with the requirement or did not receive a waiver; or (2) the average annual amount expended by the SEA for such programs during the prior five fiscal years. (SROs are career law enforcement officers with sworn authority assigned by their agency to work with schools and community-based organizations to address crime and disorder, develop prevention efforts, educate students on safety, and assist with school policies to reduce crime, as defined in 34 U.S.C. 10389.) SEAs must annually certify compliance to the Secretary of Education, including a public report detailing state SRO funding amounts and the number of SROs for the current fiscal year and the prior five fiscal years. For noncompliance without a waiver, the Secretary reduces the SEA's ESEA funds for the following fiscal year proportionally to the funding shortfall. The Secretary may waive the requirement for SEAs demonstrating extraordinary financial circumstances, such as economic downturns or natural disasters, that reduced SRO funding.